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.

面心立方铈的一阶同构γ-α相变的驱动机制至今仍存在争议。本项目拟通过在铈M₅边（3d-4f边）处测量Ce₀.₉₃Sc₀.₀₇合金的高分辨共振非弹性X射线散射（Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, RIXS），首次在实验上解析金属铈低能激发态中的近藤隙及其自旋轨道伴峰，并追踪其在γ-α一阶同构相变过程中的演化。后续将通过将测得的光谱与安德森杂质模型计算结果进行对比，估算各物相中的电子杂化强度，进而阐明铈的γ-α相变驱动机制。