Superconductivity and non-Fermi-liquid behavior of La3Pd4Si4 and Ce3Pd4Si4

Abstract

Measurements of temperature and field dependent bulk properties have been carried out on {Ce,La}3Pd4Si4. Rietveld refinements of x-ray powder intensity data confirm the orthorhombic U3Ni4Si4-type structure for both compounds. While La3Pd3Si4 exhibits superconductivity below 2 K together with some indications of a two gap scenario, the former can be characterized as a Kondo lattice system in presence of crystalline electric field splitting. Due to the closeness of a quantum critical point, distinct non-Fermi-liquid features dominate the low temperature physics of Ce3Pd4Si4.