Elastic properties of SmPt2Cd20 probed by ultrasound measurements

Ultrasound measurements have been carried out to investigate the elastic and low-temperature 4f-electronic properties of the Sm-based 1-2-20 system SmPt2Cd20. It was found that SmPt2Cd20 shows a pronounced elastic softening toward the magnetic transition temperature Tc = 0.64 K in the temperature dependence of the transverse elastic constant CE = (C11 -C12)/2. The clear elastic softening behavior is suppressed gradually with increasing a magnetic field. The obtained results can be explained reasonably by a deformation potential approximation in which a coupling between conduction electrons and elastic strains caused by sound waves leads to a temperature dependence of elastic constants. This suggests possibly that the 4f electrons would become itinerant in the ground state in SmPt2Cd20. The nature of the low-temperature elastic and electronic states involving the ground state multiplets of Sm ions are discussed.