Valence Instability of YbCu$_2$Si$_2$ through its quantum critical point

We report Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements (RIXS) in YbCu$2$Si$_2$ at the Yb L${3}$ edge under high pressure (up to 22 GPa) and at low temperatures (down to 7 K) with emphasis on the vicinity of the transition to a magnetic ordered state. We find a continuous valence change towards the trivalent state with increasing pressure but with a pronounced change of slope close to the critical pressure. Even at 22 GPa the Yb$^{+3}$ state is not fully achieved. The pressure where this feature is observed decreases as the temperature is reduced to 9 GPa at 7K, a value close to the critical pressure (\itshape{p\normalfont{$_c$}}\normalfont $\approx$ 7.5 GPa) where magnetic order occurs. The decrease in the valence with decreasing temperature previously reported at ambient pressure is confirmed and is found to be enhanced at higher pressures. We also compare the f electron occupancy between YbCu$_2$Si$_2$ and its Ce-counterpart, CeCu$_2$Si$_2$.

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Source https://hal.science/hal-00678906
Author Fernandez-Panella, A., Balédent, V., Braithwaite, D., Paolasini, Luigi, Verbeni, Roberto, Lapertot, G., Rueff, Jean-Pascal
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 24, 2026, 19:40 (UTC)
Created May 24, 2026, 19:40 (UTC)
Identifier hal-00678906
Language en
Rights https://about.hal.science/hal-authorisation-v1/
contributor Service de Physique Statistique, Magnétisme et Supraconductivité (SPSMS - UMR 9001) ; Institut Nanosciences et Cryogénie (INAC) ; Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])
creator Fernandez-Panella, A.
date 2012-03-14T00:00:00
harvest_object_id 3fa1fa93-6eb0-47a4-a149-a8a56412d9d6
harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2026-04-02T00:00:00
relation info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/arxiv/1203.3567
set_spec type:UNDEFINED