Kondo scenario of the gamma–alpha phase transition in Ce(0.93)Sc(0.07)

The driving mechanism of the first-order isostructural gamma–alpha phase transition of face-center-cubic cerium remains controversial until today. In this project, we propose to measure high resolution Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) of the Ce0.93Sc0.07 alloy at the Ce M5-edge (3d-4f edge) to experimentally resolve for the first time the Kondo gap and its spin-orbit replicate in the low-energy excitations of Ce metal to follow its evolution across the gamma–alpha first-order isostructural phase transition. The spectra will be analyzed by comparing them with Anderson impurity model calculations to estimate the hybridization strength in each phase and clarify the driving mechanism of the gamma–alpha phase transition in cerium.