CALCULATED GROUND-STATE PROPERTIES OF TERNARY URANIUM-COMPOUNDS

The compounds UTA1 (T = Fe,Co,Ni,Ru,Rh,Ir,Pt) crystallize in the hexagonal ZrNiAl structure. Measurements suggest that the 5f electrons in these compounds are itinerant [V. Sechovsky and L. Havela, in Ferromagnetic Materials, edited by E. P. Wohlfarth and K. H. J. Buschow (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1988), Vol. 4, p. 309]. From self-consistent linear muffin-tin orbital energy-band calculations for the compounds the transition to magnetism across the series is explained in terms of the calculated Stoner products. Inclusion of spin-orbit interaction leads to an induced orbital moment in URhA1, consistent with the experimental observation that the magnetic properties of these compounds are highly anisotropic [V. Sechovsky and L. Havela, in Ferromagnetic Materials, edited by E. P. Wohlfarth and K. H. J. Buschow (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1988), Vol. 4, p. 309].