A robust but disordered collapsed-volume phase in a cerium alloy under the application of pulsed magnetic fields

Abstract

We report synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction measurements of Ce0.8La0.1Th0.1 subject to pulsed magnetic fields as high as 28 Tesla. This alloy is known to exhibit a continuous volume collapse on cooling at ambient pressure, which is a modification of the gamma -> alpha transition in elemental cerium. Recently, it has been suggested on the basis of field-cooled resistivity and pulsed field magnetization measurements that the volume collapse in this alloy can be suppressed by the application of magnetic fields. Conversely, our direct diffraction measurements show a robust collapsed phase, which persists in magnetic fields as high as 28 Tesla. We also observe nanoscale disorder in the collapsed phase, which increasingly contaminates the high temperature phase on thermal cycling.