Crystal-field splitting in CeB6 as observed by high-resolution photoemission

Comparative high-resolution photoemission measurement was performed for CeB6 and CeCu6 to study the electronic structure near EF. The photoemission spectra near EF of both compounds show a characteristic satellite at 270 meV from EF due to the spin-orbit splitting of a Ce 4f electron (4f7/2-4f5/2), while the spectrum of CeB6 exhibits an additional small feature around 70 meV. Model calculations based on the noncrossing approximation show that this satellite is due to the crystal-field splitting (7-8) of the Ce 4f5/2 state in CeB6.