Intermediate-valence icosahedral Au-Al-Yb quasicrystal

Tetsu Watanuki*, Shiro Kashimoto, Daichi Kawana, Teruo Yamazaki, Akihiko MacHida, Yukinori Tanaka, Taku J. Sato

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A quasiperiodic intermediate-valence (IV) system is realized in an icosahedral Au-Al-Yb quasicrystal. X-ray absorption spectroscopy near the Yb L 3 edge indicates that quasiperiodically arranged Yb ions assume a mean valence of 2.61, between a divalent state (4f14, J=0) and a trivalent one (4f13, J=7/2). Magnetization measurements demonstrate that the 4f holes in this quasicrystal have a localized character. The magnetic susceptibility shows a Curie-Weiss behavior above ∼100 K with an effective magnetic moment of 3.81μ B per Yb. Moreover, a crystalline approximant to this quasicrystal is an IV compound. We propose a heterogeneous IV model for the quasicrystal, whereas the crystalline approximant is most likely a homogeneous IV system. At temperatures below ∼10 K, specific heat and magnetization measurements reveal non-Fermi-liquid behavior in both the quasicrystal and its crystalline approximant without either doping, pressure, or field tuning.

Original languageEnglish
Article number094201
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume86
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Sept 10
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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