Tb impurities in Th: A Kondo system with undercompensated magnetic moment?

Abstract

Dilute TbxTh1−x alloys have been thoroughly studied in the light of a possible valence instability and Kondo effect in Tb3+ and Tb4+ ions. We review the experimental data for the specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, magnetoresistivity, and the change of the superconducting properties of Th. In analogy to Tm (Tm2+ and Tm3+) and Pr (Pr3+ and Pr4+) impurities in metals, Tb involves two electronic configurations each with a magnetic Hund’s rule ground multiplet. Two classes of models for valence admixtures of two magnetic configurations have been investigated in the past. Depending on the form of the hybridization and the jj coupling within the 4f shell, the models either have a singlet or a magnetic ground state. As for Tm impurities the latter class of models, related to the undercompensated Kondo effect, appears to describe the system TbTh more appropriately. A qualitative explanation of the data is attempted within a scheme that combines Kondo screening with crystalline field splitting.