Crystalline electric field effects in the electrical resistivity of PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$

Abstract

The temperature $T$ and magnetic field $H$ dependencies of the electrical resistivity $\rho$ of the recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor \PrOsSb{} have features that are associated with the splitting of the Pr$^{3+}$ Hund's rule multiplet by the crystalline electric field (CEF). These features are apparently due to magnetic exchange and aspherical Coulomb scattering from the thermally populated CEF-split Pr$^{3+}$ energy levels. The $\rho(T)$ data in zero magnetic field can be described well by calculations based on CEF theory for various ratios of magnetic exchange and aspherical Coulomb scattering, and yield CEF parameters that are qualitatively consistent with those previously derived from magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements. Calculated $\rho(H)$ isotherms for a $\Gamma_{3}$ ground state qualitatively account for the `dome-shaped' feature in the measured $\rho(H)$ isotherms.