Thermal expansion, heat capacity and magnetostriction of RAl3 (R = Tm, Yb, Lu) single crystals

Abstract

We present thermal expansion and longitudinal magnetostriction data for cubic RAl3 (R = Tm, Yb, Lu) single crystals. The thermal expansion coefficient for YbAl3 is consistent with an intermediate valence of the Yb ion, whereas the data for TmAl3 show crystal electric field contributions and have strong magnetic field dependences. de Haas–van Alphen like oscillations were observed in the magnetostriction data for YbAl3 and LuAl3, several new extreme orbits were measured and their effective masses were estimated. Specific heat data taken at 0 and 140 kOe for both LuAl3 and TmAl3 for T≤200 K allow for the determination of a crystal electric field splitting scheme for TmAl3.