Localized excitation in the hybridization gap in YbAl3

A. D. Christianson, V. R. Fanelli, J. M. Lawrence, E. A. Goremychkin, R. Osborn, E. D. Bauer, J. L. Sarrao, J. D. Thompson, C. D. Frost, J. L. Zarestky

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Abstract

The intermediate valence compound YbAl3 exhibits a broad magnetic excitation in the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum with characteristic energy E1≈50meV, equal to the Kondo energy (TK∼600-700K). In the low temperature (T<Tcoh∼40K) Fermi liquid state, however, a new peak in the scattering occurs at E2≈33meV, which lies in the hybridization gap that exists in this compound. We report inelastic neutron scattering results for a single-crystal sample. The scattering at energies near E1 qualitatively has the momentum (Q) dependence expected for interband scattering across the indirect gap. The scattering near E2 has a very different Q dependence: it is a weak function of Q over a large fraction of the Brillouin zone and is smallest near (1/2,1/2,1/2). A possibility is that the peak at E2 arises from a spatially localized excitation in the hybridization gap.

Original languageEnglish
Article number117206
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume96
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

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