Science Daily August 22, 2019
An international team of researchers (Austria, USA – Rice University, University of Florida, Germany) investigated a material made of palladium, silicon and cerium focusing on the electrons located at the cerium atom and on the conduction electrons, which can move freely through the crystal. The conduction electrons can virtually hide both the spin and the orbital state of the fixed electrons. This means that order is no longer possible. They have developed a system in which the order can be switched on and off individually in relation to two different degrees of freedom that are closely interwoven at high temperatures. This possibility could now help to uncover particularly interesting properties of complex materials…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Crystal structure and ordered phases of the heavy fermion compound Ce3Pd20Si6. Credit: PNAS August 20, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908101116