Ferromagnetic Kondo lattice behavior in CeNiSb

Abstract

We report magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and magnetoresistance measurements on hexagonal CeNiSb. These measurements suggest that CeNiSb is ferromagnetically ordered with a transition temperature of about 4 K. Its electrical resistivity shows a weak shallow minimum (at about 15K), characteristic of Kondo lattice systems. Further, in contrast to the other closely related compounds, the orthorhombic CeRhSb and CeNiSn, this compound does not show a rapid rise in its electrical resistivity and hence no Kondo coherence gap formation in the electronic density of states at low temperatures.