11.

4 Rare Earth Magnetism 665

12
10-
8-
6-
0
0

0
0
0

O n
I Ttr [K]

300

250

- 200
- 150

0 - 100
4- 0 0 O n
0
2- 0 0 - 50
0
U Z 0I I
-A I I 1 I I
0
I .

Figure 11.19: De Gennes factors for the trivalent RE ions (black circles, left-hand
scale), and highest transition temperatures of the RE elements (squares, right-hand
scale), based on data from [191].

fect of a lot of complicated hybridization and direct exchange matrix

elements is almost constant through the RE series. It is a favourite
game to work out plots like Fig. 11.19 for various families of RE com-
pounds, because a large deviation from the de Gennes prediction gives
a hint that the particular substance has different physics than the rest.
For instance, learning that GdRhaBz orders at Tc = 93K, we might
conclude that CeRhsB2 becomes magnetic at T', x 1K. Instead, it is a
ferromagnet with TC = 117K [71]. We argue that the fundamental dif-
ference between the two systems is that GdRhsBz is a strictly integral
valent RKKY magnet with a small Fermi surface, while CeRhsB2 is a
nearly integral valent system (nr x 0.95) with a large Fermi surface.
The two systems are on the opposite sides of a phase boundary, and
there is no reason to expect any straightforward relationship between
their properties.
We have not yet mentioned the effect of the c-f coupling on the con-
duction electrons, though this can lead to observable effects. To take
the simplest case, let us msume that the f-moments are ordered f e r n