Crystal-field effects in PrNi5: Comparison of calculations with experiments

In the intermetallic compound Pr${\mathrm{Ni}}_5$, exchange interactions between Pr ions are small enough in order not to disturb the crystal-field singlet ground state of the ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$ ion. The thermodynamic and magnetic properties are thus mainly determined by the crystal-field splitting. It is shown here that magnetic-susceptibility, specific-heat, and thermal-expansion data can be explained satisfactorily with one crystal-field Hamiltonian.