We have succeeded in synthesizing single crystals of an intermetallic compound ${\mathrm{Ce}}_3{\mathrm{Rh}}_4{\mathrm{Pb}}_{13}$. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that the Ce moments are highly localized despite the metallic character of the electrical resistivity. Heat capacity measurements reveal that the crystalline electric field lifts the sixfold degeneracy of the ${\mathrm{Ce}}^{3+}$ ground state, with the excited quartet separated by approximately $60\mathrm{K}$ from the doublet ground state. The magnetic field dependence of the heat capacity at low temperature indicates a further splitting of the doublet, but no sign of magnetic order was found above $0.35\mathrm{K}$.

• Received 30 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.075109