YbPd$_2$In: a promising candidate to strong entropy accumulation at very low temperature

Abstract

We report on synthesis, crystal structure, magnetic, thermodynamic and transport properties of the new compound YbPd$_2$In, crystallizing as a Heusler structure type. A trivalent state of the rare earth was determined by fitting the magnetic susceptibility with a Curie-Weiss law. This compound is characterized by showing very weak magnetic interactions and a negligible Kondo effect. A specific heat jump was observed at $T\approx 250$ mK, followed at higher temperature by a power law decrease of $C_P(T)/T$. The resulting large electronic entropy increase at very low temperature is rapidly shifted to higher temperature by the application of magnetic field. This magnetocaloric effect places YbPd$_2$In as a very good candidate for adiabatic demagnetization cooling processes.