Dramatic impact of intermediate-valence impurity on induced magnetism in singlet ground state system PrNi

We studied the influence of La (nonmagnetic) and Ce (intermediate valence) impurities on the ferromagnetic ordering temperature Tc of compounds RE1-x(La,Ce)xNi (RE = Pr, Gd). The ordering temperature Tc was measured in a wide range of impurity concentration. Crystal electric field (CEF) splitting for the PrNi and Pr0.25Ce0.75Ni was defined by neutron spectroscopy measurements. The strong difference in the influence of La and Ce on Tc of PrNi and GdNi based systems has been obtained. The introduction of a spin-fluctuating intermediate valence impurity in PrNi leads to a dramatic increase in the area of the ordered state on the phase diagram, due to an increase in Tc, compared to the impact of La-impurity over the entire concentration range. The dependence of Tc on the Ce concentration for the Pr1-xCexNi was calculated within the framework of the model of microscopic states. The essential modification of the CEF splitting by the Ce impurity appears to be the decisive factor affecting Tc wherein the Ce ion carries zero static magnetic moments similar to the La case. The latter explains the identical dependencies of the ordering temperature on the impurity concentration observed in systems with a long-range order of local magnetic moments Gd1-xLaxNi and Gd1-xCexNi.