YbV6Sn6, a new quantum material candidate
Heavy Fermions have been studied extensively as an important part in the physics of strongly correlated electron systems over the last few decades. In this work, we present a study of the recently discovered Heavy Fermion compound YbV6Sn6 , and seek to identify indicators of quantum criticality through the application of an external magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure. Single crystals were grown by the self-flux method combined with a pre-synthesis in an arc-melting furnace. X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinements were used for identifying and checking the structural quality of the grown phase. Measurements of electrical transport and specific heat were performed using a PPMS-II Evercool system. The results of resistivity at low temperatures indicated a non-fermionic liquid state, indicative of the proximity to a quantum critical point. Additionally, deviation from Matthiessen's rule suggests a magnetic influence on the type of scattering of conduction electrons. Specific heat measurements confirmed the heavy fermion state of the material and indicated the presence of a Schottky anomaly associated with the crystal electric field (CEF) present in the samples. Magnetic characterization was performed by M vs T and M vs H curves measured in a SQUID magnetometer. Our results show that the pre-synthesis is essential for growing good quality crystals. The M vs H curves provide signatures of CEF present in the samples. The M vs T curves for H parallel to the ab plane show Currie-Weiss temperatures implying FM interactions with an effective moment expected for Yb3+, whereas for H parallel to the c-axis the curves evidence AFM interactions with a lower effective moment, accompanied by a local maximum at 28 K and a local minimum at 15 K due to the effect of the CEF. We thank the support of GPOMS-UNICAMP, CEM-UFABC, CAPES and FAPESP.