Non-magnetic Anomaly at 1K Arising in Ferromagnetic Ce2.15(Pd1-xAgx)1.95In0.9

Abstract Magnetic and thermal properties of Ferromagnetic (FM) Ce 2.15 (Pd 1- x Ag x ) 1.95 In 0.9 alloys were studied in order to determine the Quantum Critical Point (QCP) at TC → 0. The in- crease of band electrons produced by Pd/Ag substitution depresses TC ( x ) from 4.1K down to TC ( x = 0 . 5)=1.1K, with a QCP extrapolated to x QCP ≥ 0 . 5. Magnetic susceptibility from T > 30K indicates an effective moment slightly decreasing from μ eff =2.56 μB to 2 . 4 μB at x =0.5. These values and the paramagnetic temperature θP ≈ -10K exclude significant Kondo screening effects. The TC ( x ) reduction is accompanied by a weakening of the FM magnetization and the emergence of a specific heat Cm ( T ) anomaly at T * ≈ 1K, without signs of magnetism detected from AC-susceptibility. The magnetic entropy collected around 4K (i.e. the TC of the x = 0 sample) practically does not change with Ag concentration: Sm (4 K ) ≈ 0.8 Rln2, suggesting a progressive transfer of FM degrees of freedom to the non-magnetic (NM) compo- nent. No antecedent was found concerning any NM anomaly emerging from a FM system at such temperature. The origin of this anomaly is attributed to an entropy bottleneck originated in the nearly divergent power law dependence for T > T *