Electronic Structure of Actinide Intermetallic Compounds: Systems with Properties varying from Paramagnetism, Itinerant Magnetism, Heavy Fermion Behaviour to 5f Localization

Abstract

The electronic structure of the actinides (An) is briefly reviewed and special emphasis is given to the drastic change in 5f electron behaviour which takes place when one proceeds from the light to the hevy elements. A similar change is found for the AnRh3, intermetalic systems as a function of the actinide atomic number, although the transition seems more gradual than for the pure elements. The present theoretical calculations yield paramagnetism for the earlier systems AcRh3, ThRh3, PaRh3 and URh3, but indicate magnetism for NpRh3 and PuRh3. For AmRh3 and CmRh3 the 5f electrons apprear to be localized in the same way as the 4f electrons are in corresponding lanthanide systems.