Electronic transitions of Ho in Pb2Sr2HoCu3O8 observed by inelastic neutron scattering

The electronic behavior of the 5I8 Russell Saunders ground multiplet of Ho3+ in Pb2Sr2HoCu3O8 has been investigated using inelastic neutron scattering. We observe ten peaks in the excitation spectra that are associated with crystal field transitions. The peaks are only slightly broader than expected from instrument resolution, indicating that there are no strong interactions between the local Ho f states and the CuO conduction states. Comparing the energies and intensities of the experimental peaks with those expected from modeling convinces us that there are at least three states populated at the temperature of our experiment (15 K), making the assignments of transitions very difficult in the absence of further data.