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We report results of the study of the recently discovered magnetic resonance in the orbitally ordered phase of CeB6 (the orbital ordering resonance) in a wide frequency range 44-360 GHz. It is found that the g-factor for this resonance increases with frequency from g(44 GHz)~1.55 to g(>250 GHz)~1.7. In addition to the orbital ordering resonance for the frequencies exceeding 200 GHz a new magnetic resonance with the g-factor 1.2-1.3 is detected., Comment: Submitted to APES06 Proceedings

The superconductor YB6 has the second highest critical temperature Tc among the boride family MBn. We report measurements of the specific heat, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and thermal expansion from 2 to 300 K, using a single crystal with Tc = 7.2 K. The superconducting gap is characteristic of medium-strong coupling. The specific heat, resistivity and expansivity curves are deconvolved to yield approximations of the phonon density of states, the spectral electron-phonon scattering function and the phonon density of states weighted by the frequency-dependent Grueneisen parameter respectively. Lattice vibrations extend to high frequencies >100 meV, but a dominant Einstein-like mode at ~8 meV, associated with the vibrations of yttrium ions in oversized boron cages, appears to provide most of the superconducting coupling and gives rise to an unusual temperature behavior of several observable quantities. A surface critical field Hc3 is also observed., Comment: 29 pages, 5 tables, 17 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B

We report experimental observation of a new type of magnetic resonance caused by orbital ordering in a strongly correlated electronic system. Cavity measurements performed on CeB6 single crystals in a frequency range 60-100 GHz show that a crossing of the phase boundary TQ(B) between the antiferro-quadrupole and paramagnetic phases gives rise to development at T

Experimental evidence of the magnetic resonance in the antiferro-quadrupole phase of CeB6 is reported. We have shown that below orbital ordering temperature a new magnetic contribution from localized magnetic moments (LMM) emerge and gives rise to observed resonant phenomenon. This behaviour is hardly possible to expect in dense Kondo system, where LMM should vanish al low temperatures rather than emerge. From the other hand, in the quadrupole ordering concept, where magnetism of Ce magnetic ions is solely accounted, is difficult to explain splitting of magnetisation into components having different physical nature. Therefore an adequate theory explaining magnetic properties of CeB6 including magnetic resonance and orbital ordering appears on the agenda., Comment: 4 pages, Accepted paper for MISM05 proceedings

Precision measurements of charge transport parameters (resistivity, Hall and Seebeck coefficients) have been carried out on high-quality single-crystals of cerium hexaboride in a wide temperature range 1.8-300 K. It is shown that in the temperature interval of 5 K < T < T* = 80 K the magnetic contribution in resistivity obeys the power law rm = T -1/n, which corresponds to the regime of weak localization of charge carriers with the critical index 1/n = 0.39 +- 0.02. In the same temperature interval an asymptotic behavior of thermopower S = -lnT is found together with an essential decrease of the charge carriers mobility in CeB6. A negative Hall coefficient anomaly has been detected at liquid helium temperatures. The data obtained are compared with the results predicted by the Kondo-lattice model and discussed also in terms of the theory of excitonic ferromagnetism.

In an attempt to clarify conflicting published data, we report new measurements of specific heat, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal expansivity up to room temperature for the 6 K superconductor ZrB12, using well-characterized single crystals with a residual resistivity ratio >9. The specific heat gives the bulk result 2*delta(0)/(k_B*Tc)=3.7 for the superconducting gap ratio, and excludes multiple gaps and d-wave symmetry for the Cooper pairs. The Sommerfeld constant gamma_n = 0.34 mJ K-2 gat-1 and the magnetic susceptibility xsi = -2.1 x 10^-5 indicate a low density of states at the Fermi level. The Debye temperature theta_D is in the range 1000-1200 K near zero and room temperature, but decreases by a factor of ~2 at ~35 K. The specific heat and resistivity curves are inverted to yield approximations of the phonon density of states F(omega) and the spectral electron-phonon scattering function alpha_tr^2 F(omega), respectively. Both unveil a 15 meV mode, attributed to Zr vibrations in oversized B cages, which gives rise to electron-phonon coupling. The thermal expansivity further shows that this mode is anharmonic, while the vanishingly small discontinuity at Tc establishes that the cell volume is nearly optimal with respect to Tc., Comment: v3: minor changes in the thermal expansion paragraph submitted to Physical Review B

We report on measurements of the temperature dependence of resistivity, $\rho(T)$, for single crystal samples of ZrB$_{12}$, ZrB$_{2}$ and polycrystalline samples of MgB$_{2}$. It is shown that cluster compound ZrB$_{12}$ behaves like a simple metal in the normal state, with a typical Bloch -- Gr\"uneisen $\rho(T)$ dependence. However, the resistive Debye temperature, $T_{R}=300 K$, is three times smaller than $T_{D}$ obtained from specific heat data. We observe the $T^{2}$ term in $\rho(T)$ of these borides, which could be interpreted as an indication of strong electron-electron interaction. Although the $\rho (T)$ dependence of ZrB$_{12}$ reveals a sharp superconductive transition at $T_{c}=6.0 K$, no superconductivity was observed for single crystal samples of ZrB$_{2}$ down to $1.3 K$., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Bulk and surface properties of high-quality single crystals of zirconium dodecaboride have been studied in the temperature range from 4.5 K up to the superconducting transition temperature which is found to be nearly 6.06 K. Scanning tunnelling spectroscopy data, together with dc and ac magnetization measurements, are consistent with the conventional s-wave pairing scenario, whereas they disagree in estimates of the electron-phonon coupling strength. We explain the divergence, supposing a great difference between the surface and bulk superconducting characteristics of the compound. This assertion is supported by our findings of a non-linear magnetic response to an amplitude-modulated alternating magnetic field, testifying to the presence of surface superconductivity in the ZrB$_{12}$ samples at dc fields exceeding the thermodynamic critical field., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure, will be published in PRB

We have studied the effect of Lu substitution on the spin dynamics of the Kondo insulator YbB12 to clarify the origin of the spin-gap response previously observed at low temperature in this material. Inelastic neutron spectra have been measured in Yb1-xLuxB12 compounds for four Lu concentrations x = 0, 0.25, 0.90 and 1.0. The data indicate that the disruption of coherence on the Yb sublattice primarily affects the narrow peak structure occurring near 15-20 meV in pure YbB12, whereas the spin gap and the broad magnetic signal around 38 meV remain almost unaffected. It is inferred that the latter features reflect mainly local, single-site processes, and may be reminiscent of the inelastic magnetic response reported for mixed-valence intermetallic compounds. On the other hand, the lower component at 15 meV is most likely due to dynamic short-range magnetic correlations. The crystal-field splitting in YbB12 estimated from the Er3+ transitions measured in a Yb0.9Er0.1B12 sample, has the same order of magnitude as other relevant energy scales of the system and is thus likely to play a role in the form of the magnetic spectral response., Comment: 16 pages in pdf format, 9 figures. v. 2: coauthor list updated; extra details given in section 3.2 (pp. 6-7); one reference added; fig. 5 axis label changed