Phase transitions in Lu2Ir3Si5: An experimental investigation by transport measurements

We have investigated the coupled structural and electronic phase transition in the rare-earth ternary silicide Lu2Ir3Si5 by means of electrical resistivity , Seebeck coefficient S , as well as thermal conductivity measurements. Near the phase transition, pronounced anomalies in these transport properties with a significantly large hysteresis of about 40 K were noticed. By comparing the transition characteristics with the earlier reported charge-density-wave CDW systems R5Ir4Si10 R=rare-earth elements , our present investigation infers the possibility for the CDW transition accompanying a structural transition in this compound. In addition, possible mechanisms for the observed thermal hysteresis have also been proposed.