Electron-quasiparticle interaction in $\rm DyNi_2B_2C$ measured by point-contact spectroscopy

Abstract

The electron-quasiparticle interaction (EQI) spectral function has been measured for $\rm DyNi_2B_2C$ in the normal state at low temperatures by means of point-contact spectroscopy (PCS). A low-frequency peak is found around $eV\sim 5\ meV$. It becomes measurable at $T_m^*\simeq 15\ K$ and grows in intensity with constant width as the temperature is lowered. We argue that this peak arises from the strong interaction of conduction electron with coupled crystal-electric-field-phonon excitations whose branches cross at low energy. The comparison with PC spectra for $\rm HoNi_2B_2C$ suggests that a similar peak also exists for this compound. The magnitude of the point-contact EQI parameter $\lambda_{PC}$ for $\rm DyNi_2B_2C$ is estimated. $\copyright$2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.