Electronic and magnetic properties of stoichiometric CeAuBi2

We report the electronic and magnetic properties of stoichiometric CeAuBi2 single crystals. At ambient pressure, CeAuBi2 orders antiferromagnetically below a Neél temperature (TN) of 19 K. Neutron diffraction experiments revealed an antiferromagnetic propagation vector τˆ=[0,0,1/2], which doubles the paramagnetic unit cell along the c axis. At low temperatures several metamagnetic transitions are induced by the application of fields parallel to the c axis, suggesting that the magnetic structure of CeAuBi2 changes as a function of field. At low temperatures, a linear positive magnetoresistance may indicate the presence of band crossings near the Fermi level. Finally, the application of external pressure favors the antiferromagnetic state, indicating that the 4f electrons become more localized.