Thermal, magnetic and electronic properties of non-centrosymmetric YbPt₂B

Ternary YbPt₂B crystallizes in the non-centrosymmetric hexagonal CePt₂B-type structure (space group P6₂22). Electrical resistivity, specific heat and magnetic measurements reveal a magnetic instability at 5.6 K. Furthermore, a spin-reorientation of presumably a ferromagnetic type occurs around 1.5 K. The behaviour at low temperature is governed by a rather weak Kondo effect, T_K ⩽ 1 K, in the presence of strong crystalline electric field splitting, with a doublet ground state. Besides, the complex magnetic behaviour presumably results from a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction triggered by the absence of inversion symmetry in the crystal structure. Scaling according to the de Gennes factor traces back magnetic ordering in YbPt₂B to the Rudermann–Kittel–Kasuya–Yoshida (RKKY) interaction and the smooth evolution of the lattice constants and the unit cell volume of REPt₂B (RE = rare earths) refers to the 4f¹³ electronic configuration of Yb in YbPt₂B. (paper)