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Crystal structures, thermal and charge-transport (resistivity and Seebeck coefficient) characteristics of dodecaborides LuNB12 are studied to determine the role of boron isotopic composition N = 10, 11, natural. Small distortions of the fcc lattice are observed and attributed to cooperative Jahn-Teller effect in the boron sublattice. The Einstein and Debye temperatures, respectively for Lu and B atoms, are determined based on equivalent atomic displacement parameters (ADPs) refined as a part of structure model. Additionally, ADP values are separated into temperature dependent and independent components, arising from (i) thermal and (ii) zero temperature vibrations, together with (iii) static shifts of few atoms from lattice sites. Atomic disordering is most expressed in LunatB12 as follows from its ADP values and the Schottky anomalies in heat capacity. The largest static ADP components of LunatB12 are surprisingly combined with the lower resistivity and thermopower as compared to isotopically pure crystals. One may suppose the static shifts (defects) are centers of pinning facilitating formation of additional conductive channels (dynamic charge stripes), which reveal themselves on difference Fourier maps of electron density.

Experimental data on thermionic current density and electron work function of YB12 (100) at T = 1218 – 1978 K in high vacuum (p < 10-4 Pa) are first introduced. Temperature dependences of the thermionic current density and effective electron work function are presented without extrapolation to the zero-field currents because of the anomalous Schottky effect. The temperature dependences of theYB12 electron work function can be described by linear functions at certain temperature intervals. Preferential boron evaporation and additional ion bombardment by the residual gases ions and evaporated boron ions results in appearance of new phases depleted of boron on the YB12 surface. As a result, an YB4 – YB6 double layer on the YB12 single crystal surface has formed. The appearance of the new boride phases, depleted of boron, on the emitting surface causes an increase of thermionic current density compared with individual YB12.

$\mathrm{Tm}{\mathrm{B}}_{4}$ is an anisotropic, metallic magnetic system with geometrical frustration of the Shastry-Sutherland type. Here an experimental study of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in Lu-doped $\mathrm{T}{\mathrm{m}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{u}}_{x}{\mathrm{B}}_{4}$ ($x=0.06$, 0.30), evaluated from the temperature dependence of heat capacity and magnetization curves at 2 K, is presented. The results are described within a theoretical model based on an extended Ising Hamiltonian which considers interactions up to the fourth-next-nearest neighbors. Model parameters were optimized to achieve the best match to the experimental results over the whole range of $\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{u}}^{3+}$ ion concentrations. After optimization a good quantitative agreement with the adiabatic temperature change and a good qualitative agreement with magnetization curves is obtained. Our study shows that the efficiency of the MCE can be tuned by dilution with nonmagnetic Lu ions. The theoretical model developed could be used to design new magnetocaloric materials.

The magnetic phase diagram of Tm1–xYbxB12 antiferromagnets is determined from the specific heat measurements performed at low and ultralow temperatures (0.07–10 K). Precise experimental studies of the features of the crystal structure at room temperature suggest that a metal−insulator transition occurring in Tm1–xYbxB12 with the growth of x is accompanied by a significant (by a factor of 2–6) increase in the amplitude of atomic displacements in the boron and rare-earth sublattices. There is also a signature of an instability arising in the electron configuration of ytterbium ions at this transition. At room temperature, near the quantum critical point at xc ≈ 0.25, anomalies in the structural characteristics of dodecaborides under study are observed.

SmB6 is predicted to be the first member of the intersection of topological insulators and Kondo insulators, strongly correlated materials in which the Fermi level lies in the gap of a many-body resonance that forms by hybridization between localized and itinerant states. While robust, surface-only conductivity at low temperature and the observation of surface states at the expected high symmetry points appear to confirm this prediction, we find both surface states at the (100) surface to be topologically trivial. We find the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\bar{\varGamma }}$$\end{document}Γ¯ state to appear Rashba split and explain the prominent \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\bar X$$\end{document}X¯ state by a surface shift of the many-body resonance. We propose that the latter mechanism, which applies to several crystal terminations, can explain the unusual surface conductivity. While additional, as yet unobserved topological surface states cannot be excluded, our results show that a firm connection between the two material classes is still outstanding., Samarium hexahoride is argued to be a topological Kondo insulator, but this claim remains under debate. Here, Hlawenka et al. provide a topologically trivial explanation for the conducting states at the (100) surface of samarium hexaboride; an explanation based on Rashba splitting and a surface shift of the Kondo resonance.

We report the study of transport and magnetic properties of the YbB6–δsingle crystals grown by inductive zone melting. A strong disparity in the low temperature resistivity, Seebeck and Hall coefficients is established for the samples with the different level of boron deficiency. The effective parameters of the charge transport in YbB6–δ are shown to depend on the concentration of intrinsic defects, which is estimated to range from 0.09% to 0.6%. The pronounced variation of Hall mobility μH found for bulk holes is induced by the decrease of transport relaxation time from τ ≈ 7.7 fs for YbB5.994 to τ ≈ 2.2 fs for YbB5.96. An extra contribution to conductivity from electrons with μH≈ –1000 cm2 V–1 s–1 and the very low concentration n /nYb≈ 10–6 discovered below 20 K for all the single crystals under investigation is suggested to arise from the surface electron states appeared in the inversion layer due to the band bending. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We investigate the doping-induced changes in the electronic structure of ${\mathrm{CeB}}_{6}$ on a series of substituted ${\mathrm{Ce}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{R}_{x}{\mathrm{B}}_{6}$ samples ($R=\mathrm{La}$, Nd) using diffuse neutron scattering. We observe a redistribution of magnetic spectral weight across the Brillouin zone, which we associate with the changes in the Fermi-surface nesting properties related to the modified charge carrier concentration. In particular, a strong diffuse peak at the corner of the Brillouin zone ($R$ point), which coincides with the propagation vector of the elusive antiferroquadrupolar (AFQ) order in ${\mathrm{CeB}}_{6}$, is rapidly suppressed by both La and Nd doping, like the AFQ order itself. The corresponding spectral weight is transferred to the $X(00\frac{1}{2})$ point, ultimately stabilizing a long-range AFM order at this wave vector at the Nd-rich side of the phase diagram. At an intermediate Nd concentration, a broad diffuse peak with multiple local maxima of intensity is observed around the $X$ point, evidencing itinerant frustration that gives rise to multiple ordered phases for which ${\mathrm{Ce}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Nd}}_{x}{\mathrm{B}}_{6}$ is known. On the La-rich side of the phase diagram, however, dilution of the magnetic moments prevents the formation of a similar $(00\frac{1}{2})$-type order despite the presence of nesting. Our results demonstrate how diffuse neutron scattering can be used to probe the nesting vectors in complex $f$-electron systems directly, without reference to the single-particle band structure, and emphasize the role of Fermi surface geometry in stabilizing magnetic order in rare-earth hexaborides.

For the last few decades, researchers have been intrigued by multipolar ordering phenomena while looking for the related quantum criticality in the heavy-fermion Kondo system Ce$_{1-x}$La$_{x}$B$_6$. However, critical phenomena induced by substitution level ($x$), temperature ($T$), and magnetic field ($B$) are poorly understood despite a large collection of experimental results is available. In this work, we present $T$-$B$, $x$-$T$, and $x$-$B$ phase diagrams of Ce$_{1-x}$La$_x$B$_6$ ($\mathbf{B}\parallel[110]$). These are completed by analyzing heat capacity, magnetocaloric effect (MCE), and elastic neutron scattering. A drastic increase of the Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma_0$, which is estimated from the heat capacity down to 0.05 K, is observed with increasing $x$. The precise $T$-$B$ phase diagram which includes an unforeseen high-entropy region is drawn by analyzing the MCE for the first time in Ce$_{1-x}$La$_x$B$_6$. The $x$-$B$ phase diagram, which supports the existence of a QCP at $x>0.75$, is obtained by the same analysis. A detailed interpretation of phase diagrams strongly indicates positive correlation between the fluctuating multipoles and the effective electron mass., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures

SmB6 has recently attracted considerable interest as a candidate for the first strongly correlated topological insulator. Such materials promise entirely new properties such as correlation-enhanced bulk bandgaps or a Fermi surface from spin excitations. Whether SmB6 and its surface states are topological or trivial is still heavily disputed however, and a solution is hindered by major disagreement between angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) results. Here, a combined ARPES and STM experiment is conducted. It is discovered that the STM contrast strongly depends on the bias voltage and reverses its sign beyond 1 V. It is shown that the understanding of this contrast reversal is the clue to resolving the discrepancy between ARPES and STM results. In particular, the scanning tunneling spectra reflect a low-energy electronic structure at the surface, which supports a trivial origin of the surface states and the surface metallicity of SmB6 .

Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) has drawn much attention because its magnetic cooling property enables refrigeration without producing noxious gas or using rapidly depleting resources. However, applications for everyday life are yet distant. In addition, we need to understand more about the practical aspect of the MCE. Here, we introduce a phenomenological model to explain the quasi-adiabatic MCE. Correction factors to the equilibrium thermodynamic feature implied by the entropy landscape are devised in analytic forms. To demonstrate the validity of the model, the MCE from two different materials is investigated. The recently discovered metallic paramagnet, YbPt 2 Sn, shows a linear and reversible MCE which is typical of a paramagnetic system and suitable for cryogenics without 3He. On the other hand, a complex-phase material, Ce 0.5 La 0.5 B 6 , exhibits a pronounced irreversible MCE especially across a magnetic phase boundary. A term that describes the field induced heating near a phase transition turns out to be essential in resolving the irreversible, non-equilibrium MCE.

In zero magnetic field, the famous neutron spin resonance in the f-electron superconductor CeCoIn5 is similar to the recently discovered exciton peak in the non-superconducting CeB6. Magnetic field splits the resonance in CeCoIn5 into two components, indicating that it is a doublet. Here we employ inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to scrutinize the field dependence of spin fluctuations in CeB6. The exciton shows a markedly different behavior without any field splitting. Instead, we observe a second field-induced magnon whose energy increases with field. At the ferromagnetic zone center, however, we find only a single mode with a non-monotonic field dependence. At low fields, it is initially suppressed to zero together with the antiferromagnetic order parameter, but then reappears at higher fields inside the hidden-order phase, following the energy of an electron spin resonance (ESR). This is a unique example of a ferromagnetic resonance in a heavy-fermion metal seen by both ESR and INS consistently over a broad range of magnetic fields., 7 pages, 6 figures including one animation, accepted to Phys. Rev. B

Based on low-temperature resistivity, heat capacity, and magnetization investigations, we show that the unusually strong suppression of superconductivity in ${\mathrm{Lu}}_{x}{\mathrm{Zr}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{B}}_{12}$ ($xl8%$) BCS-type superconductors is caused by the emergence of static spin polarization in the vicinity of nonmagnetic lutetium impurities. The analysis of the obtained results points to a formation of static magnetic moments with ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{eff}}\ensuremath{\approx}6{\ensuremath{\mu}}_{B}$ per ${\mathrm{Lu}}^{3+}$ ion (${}^{1}{S}_{0}$ ground state, $4{f}^{14}$ configuration) incorporated in the superconducting ${\mathrm{ZrB}}_{12}$ matrix. The size of these spin-polarized nanodomains was estimated to be about 5 \AA{}.

Some heavy fermion materials show so-called hidden-order phases which are invisible to many characterization techniques and whose microscopic origin remained controversial for decades. Among such hidden-order compounds, CeB6 is of model character due to its simple electronic configuration and crystal structure. Apart from more conventional antiferromagnetism, it shows an elusive phase at low temperatures, which is commonly associated with multipolar order. Here we show that this phase roots in a Fermi surface instability. This conclusion is based on a full 3D tomographic sampling of the electronic structure by angle-resolved photoemission and comparison with inelastic neutron scattering data. The hidden order is mediated by itinerant electrons. Our measurements will serve as a paradigm for the investigation of hidden-order phases in f-electron systems, but also generally for situations where the itinerant electrons drive orbital or spin order., In compounds containing 4f and 5f elements, hidden-order phases exist which are undetectable by many methods, the origins of which are debated. Here, the authors use photoemission and neutron scattering methods to show how such a multipolar-ordered phase emerges due to Fermi surface instability in CeB6.