In the present article, a theory describing the normal state of heavy-fermion alloys is presented which is based on the Yoshimori-Kasai model in the framework of a slave-boson mean-field theory under the coherent-potential approximation. The density of states (DOS) and its concentration dependence for conduction electrons and strongly correlated f electrons in heavy-fermion alloys are calculated self-consistently. The results obtained not only reveal the process of the pseudogap formation in the DOS, but also give a reasonable explanation of the low-temperature coherence effects in the specific heat, the thermoelectric power, and the molar residual resistivity for heavy-fermion alloys.

• Received 16 November 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.43.12906