Hybridization-driven gap in U3Bi4Ni3: a 209Bi NMR/NQR study

We report {sup 209}Bi nuclear-magnetic-resonance and nuclear-quadrupole-resonance measurements on a single crystal of the Kondo insulator U{sub 3}Bi{sub 4}Ni{sub 3}. The {sup 209}Bi nuclear-spin-lattice relaxation rate (T{sub 1}{sup -1}) shows activated behavior and is well fit by a spin gap of 220 K. The {sup 209}Bi Knight shift (K) exhibits a strong temperature dependence arising from 5f electrons, in which K is negative at high temperatures and increases as the temperature is lowered. Below 50 K, K shows a broad maximum and decreases slightly upon further cooling. Our data provide insight into the evolution of the hyperfine fields in a fully gapped Kondo insulator based on 5f electron hybridization.