Inelastic Neutron Scattering study of magnetism and crystal field effect in Ce2RuGe

Ce2RuGe which crystallizes in orthorhombic structure (space group Pmmn) has been found to exhibit an antiferromagnetic ordering below TN = 12 K and undergoes another transition to a ferromagnetically ordered state below Tc = 8.5 K. In this structure Ce atoms occupy two crystallographic positions Ce1 and Ce2, and it has been suggested that the Ce atoms occupying Ce1 sites exhibit valence fluctuating behaviour whereas the Ce atoms occupying Ce2 site exhibit long-range magnetic ordering. The occurrence of two transitions near 12 K and 8.5 K are consistently seen in magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity and electrical resistivity data. The 12 K transition seems to have an antiferromagnetic character whereas the 8.5 K transition depicts a ferromagnetic character. Further investigations using the inelastic neutron scattering experiment are highly desired to determine the crystal field states as well as nature of two Ce sites (localized vs valence fluctuating) of this compound. We propose to carry out inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Ce2RuGe using MERLIN/MARI spectrometer to determine the crystal field level scheme.