Understanding Crystalline Electric Field Levels, Hybridization, and Magnetic Anisotropy in RNi2Ge2 (R = Ce, Yb)

We are undertaking a U.S. Department-of-Energy Clean-Energy research project that ultimately aims to develop new ab initio tools to understand and predict mixed valence and magnetic anisotropy in rare-earth compounds. These tools include using DFT with Gutzwiller wavefunctions and correlation matrix renormalization theory. Vital to our investigations is performing new experimental measurements on targeted materials to obtain data for the magnetic anisotropy and CEF level scheme which will be used to develop our understanding and tools. Here, we request four days on MARI to study the CEF states of Yb and Ce in YbNi2Ge2 and CeNi2Ge2 as input for our theory. We ultimately aim to understand and predict properties such as magnetic anisotropy due to CEF splitting in the presence of significant hybridization.