High-Temperature Magnetic Susceptibility of Lanthanum and Cerium Metals

Abstract

The magnetic susceptibilities of cerium and lanthanum metals have been measured from room temperature through the melting point. Cerium has a unique fusion behavior with a negative melting slope which has been attributed to a $4f-5d$ electronic promotion. It is demonstrated that this promotion in cerium does not occur and that the small change in the susceptibility at cerium's two high-temperature phase transformations can be attributed almost entirely to changes in the Pauli susceptibility. A quantitative estimate of this change is found by comparison with the lanthanum high-temperature susceptibility.