Valence-level photoemission spectra of the actinide intermetallic compounds ThPt3, UPt5, UAu3, and USn3

The valence-level excitations of the actinide intermetallic compounds ThPt3, UPt5, and UAu3 have been investigated with resonant photoemission techniques, while those of USn3 have been studied with x-ray photoemission. In all compounds, 5f spectral weight is found at the Fermi energy. Comparison of the spectra with calculated densities of states shows an overall agreement for the transition-metal d bands, but for UAu3 reveals that the measured width of the 5f contribution is considerably larger than calculated. This behavior points to Coulomb correlation effects among the 5f electrons which may lead to excitation spectra reminiscent of those of Ce systems. © 1987 The American Physical Society.