Crystal Field Levels of Pr³⁺ in PrAl₃ Studied by Inelastic Neutron Scattering

Abstract

Abstract The crystal field splitting of the 3 H 4 ground multiplet of the Pr 3+ ion in the intermetallic compound PrAl 3 is investigated by inelastic scattering of thermal neutrons. At several temperatures crystal field transitions are measured by TOF and TAS methods for polycrystalline PrAl 3 . In order to decide between crystal field transitions and phonon scattering, the isostructural, nonmagnetic compound LaAl 3 is also measured. The crystal field parameters and the energy level scheme for the ground multiplet splitting in PrAl 3 are given.