Competition between multi-channel Kondo effect and f delocalization in TmTe at high pressure

Jarrige, I.; Rueff, J.-P.*; Cai, Y. Q.*; Shieh, S.*; Ishii, Hirofumi*; Taguchi, Munetaka*

Among numerous f electron systems which present Kondo properties, intermediate-valent Tm compounds stand out as potential candidates for multichannel Kondo (ncK) effect, since both integer valences Tm2+ and Tm3+ are magnetic. Using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and the Anderson impurity model, we probed the Tm valence and 4f-5d hybridization in the high-pressure intermediate-valent TmTe compound. Our results reveal that the f delocalization is discontinuous, characterized by a previously unobserved plateau-like behavior between the volume collapse transition and the structural transition (4.36.5 GPa), with an associated valence (2.55) at odds with the near-trivalency previously reported. This is at odds with the usual, continuous Kondo-like f delocalization, and is interpreted as an experimental observation of the effect of culminating ncK scattering of d electrons from local moments on the electronic structure.