Bi: a New Frustrated Antiferromagnet Candidate*

Ce-based compounds often display emergent phenomena due to the interplay between competing magnetic interactions, crystalline electrical field (CEF) effects, and the Kondo effect. Here we report the structural and physical properties of the new heavy-fermion compound CeAu₂Bi. CeAu₂Bi crystallizes in a hexagonal structure (P63/mmc) with lattice parameters of a = 4.8867(5) Å and c = 9.3748(13) Å. This structure presents Ce planes containing a triangular lattice, which has the potential of displaying geometrical frustration. Antiferromagnetic ordering, however, takes place at T_N = 3.1 K, and is enhanced as a function of pressure, reaching 4.2 K at 18 kbar. We discuss our experimental results in the light of band structure calculations.