Valence and magnetic ordering in intermediate valence compounds: TmSe versus SmB(6).

The intermediate valence systems TmSe and SmB(6) have been investigated up to 16 and 18 GPa by ac microcalorimetry with a pressure (p) tuning realized in situ at low temperature. For TmSe, the transition from an antiferromagnetic insulator for p<3 GPa to an antiferromagnetic metal at higher pressure has been confirmed. A drastic change in the p variation of the Néel temperature (T(N)) is observed at 3 GPa. In the metallic phase (p>3 GPa), T(N) is found to increase linearly with p. A similar linear p increase of T(N) is observed for the quasitrivalent compound TmS, which is at ambient pressure equivalent to TmSe at p∼7 GPa. In the case of SmB(6) long range magnetism has been detected above p∼8 GPa, i.e. at a pressure slightly higher than the pressure of the insulator to metal transition. However a homogeneous magnetic phase occurs only above 10 GPa. The magnetic and electronic properties are related to the renormalization of the 4f wavefunction either to the divalent or the trivalent configurations. As observed in SmS, long range magnetism in SmB(6) occurs already far below the pressure where a trivalent Sm(3+) state will be reached. It seems possible to describe roughly the physical properties of the intermediate valence equilibrium by assuming formulae for the Kondo lattice temperature depending on the valence configuration. Comparison is also made with the appearance of long range magnetism in cerium and ytterbium heavy fermion compounds.