Theory of an elastic anomaly in the heavy fermion system CeTe

Abstract

The elastic anomaly observed in the coherent Kondo state of Ce heavy fermion compounds is analyzed by using the Anderson lattice model simulating the energy level scheme of CeTe. The $Γ_7$ doublets and $Γ_8$ quartets of the 4f states are considered in the model. We solve the mean field equations to derive the temperature dependences of elastic constants, using the random phase approximation like expression for the interaction between the elastic strain and the crystalline field splitting. We compare the calculation with the $(c_{11} - c_{12})/2$ and $c_{44}$ constants of CeTe. The presence of the downward dip and the observed overall temperature variations of the two constants are well described by the present theory. The origin of the dip is the coupling between the elastic strain and the splitting of the $Γ_8$ quartets.