Ferro-quadrupolar ordering in PrTi$_2$Al$_{20}$

Abstract

Origin of the non-magnetic phase transition in PrTi$_2$Al$_{20}$, reported earlier in the macroscopic study, has been asserted microscopically using elastic and inelastic neutron scattering techniques. It has been shown spectroscopically that the crystalline-electric-field ground state is a non-magnetic $Γ_3$ doublet, whereas the excited states are two triplets ($Γ_4$ and $Γ_5$) and a singlet ($Γ_1$). The diffraction experiment under external magnetic field shows that the non-magnetic transition is indeed ferro-quadrupolar ordering, which takes place as a consequence of cooperative removal of the ground-state-doublet degeneracy. It is therefore concluded that PrTi$_2$Al$_{20}$ is another rare example of Pr compounds exhibiting non-magnetic quadrupolar order.

7pages, 7 figure, and 1 table, submitted to PRB