Kondo bahavior in antiferromagnetic NpPdSn*

Actinide-based intermetallics show a large variety of exotic physical phenomena mainly coming from 5f hybridization with both on-site and neighboring ligand states. Depending on the strength of these process unusual behaviors such as long-range magnetic order, Kondo effect, heavy-fermion ground state, valence fluctuations, and/or superconductivity have been observed. Here we report results of our extensive studies on NpPdSn. The compound crystalizes in hexagonal ZrNiAl-type of crystal structure and is studied by means of x-ray and neutron diffraction, magnetization, heat capacity, electrical resistivity, and thermoelectric power measurements, performed over a wide range of temperatures and applied magnetic fields. All the results revealed Kondo lattice behavior and antiferromagnetic ordering below 19 K. NpPdSn can be classified as a moderately enhanced heavy-fermion system, one of very few known amidst Np-based intermetallics.