We have studied the low-temperature properties of PrxLa1−xPb3 with non-Kramers Γ3 quadrupolar moments of the crystal-electric-field ground state, for a wide concentration range of Pr ions. For x≤0.05, the specific heat C/T increases monotonically below T=1.5 K, which can be scaled with a characteristic temperature T∗ defined at each concentration x. The electrical resistivity ρ(T) in the corresponding temperature region shows a marked decrease deviating from a Fermi-liquid behavior ρ(T)∝T2. The Kondo effect arising from the correlation between the dilute Γ3 moments and the conduction electrons may give rise to such anomalous behavior.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0307408,
title = {Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior in Dilute Quadrupolar System Pr$_{x}$La$_{1-x}$Pb$_3$ with $x$$\le$0.05},
author = {Tatsuya Kawae and Tatsuharu Yamamoto and Kenji Yurue and Naoyuki Tateiwa and Kazuyoshi Takeda and Tetsuo Kitai},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0307408},
year = {2009}
}