Unusual electron transport properties of U0.05y 0.95Al2

Abstract

We report a detailed study of the resistivity (ρ(T)) and thermoelectric power (S(T)) of the alloy U0.05Y0.95Al2, which crystallises in the cubic MgCu2-type structure. The resistivity is found to follow ρ(T) ∝ In T between 15 and 40 K and a quasi-linear temperature dependence -T1.16 for T < 10 K. At a magnetic field of 9 T a Kondo-type maximum occurs in the resistivity data at 7 K, below which the Fermi liquid behaviour (ρ(T) ∝ T2) is recovered. S(T)/T shows a T0.5 power law for T < 12 K. The low-temperature unconventional features observed in U0.05Y0.95Al 2 are presumably due to the presence of the two-channel Kondo effect.