A crystal field investigation of the properties of RCuAs2 (R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er and Yb)

A crystal field (CF) investigation of the magnetic properties and heat capacities of RCuAs2 (R=Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er and Yb) has been carried out using the observed average magnetic susceptibilities (1.8–300 K) of the title compounds. The CF parameters proposed for the systems show a systematic variation throughout the rare-earth series. Other physical properties dependent on the CF are also computed and compared with available experimental data. The experimental heat capacity data reported for a limited range of temperature agree well with computed heat capacity for all the compounds (except SmCuAs2 and YbCuAs2). CF J mixing was found to be appreciable for all the samples except YbCuAs2.