Instabilities in heavy-fermion systems

Abstract We review (i) an itinerant antiferromagnetic phase transition below 4 K in Ni-rich Ce(Cu 1− x Ni x ) 2 Ge 2 systems, (ii) the coincidence at T = 0.63 K of both a structural lattice instability in “as-grown” (non-superconducting) CeCu 2 Si 2 single crystals and bulk superconductivity in annealed ones as well as (iii) antiferromagnetic and superconducting transitions at T N = 4.6 K and T c = 1 K, respectively, in the heavy-fermion compound UNi 2 Al 3 .