Low-temperature magnetic and thermal properties of CePd2In in magnetic fields

Abstract

A detailed study of the low-temperature magnetization M and specific heat C of CePd2In is reported. For B ≈ 0, M and C show maxima at TN≈ 1.25 K indicating an antiferromagnetic phase transition as observed previously. In a magnetic field B the transition seen in M is shifted to lower T while TN as determined from the specific-heat maximum is essentially unaltered up to fields of 6 T. This different behavior is attributed to magnetic anisotropy of the polycrystalline samples. The hyperfine contribution to C is discussed in terms of nuclear quadrupole splitting as well as Zeeman splitting by applied and transferred hyperfine fields. A rough estimate of the Kondo temperature from C sufficiently above TN yields TK ≈ 1.5 K.