Magnetism and crystal-field effects in the R₂Rh₃Si₅ (R=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Tb, Gd, Dy, Er, Ho, and Tm) system

Abstract

It is demonstrated through detailed studies that compounds belonging to the R₂Fe₃Si₅ series exhibit unusual superconducting and magnetic properties. Although a reasonable number of studies have been made on this series, only a few investigations have been carried out on closely related R₂Rh₃Si₅ series. In this work, we attempt to provide a comprehensive study of bulk properties such as resistivity, susceptibility, and heat capacity of large number of compounds which form in this series. Our measurements indicate the existence of a considerable contribution from the splitting of the energy levels due to crystalline electric fields (CEF's) to the bulk properties of all magnetic rare-earth compounds. We also propose a model to account for this CEF contribution.