Short range magnetic correlations and the possible role of frustration in the heavy-fermion CeCu$_{4}$Ga

Neutron scattering, longitudinal and transverse resistivity, heat capacity, ac susceptibility, and magnetization measurements on single and polycrystalline samples of the heavy-fermion compound CeCu$_{4}$Ga suggest that its hexagonal lattice and disorder due to Ga substitution may frustrate formation of the long-range magnetic order found in its parent CeCu$_{5}$. The absence of magnetic Bragg peaks in neutron diffraction data, field-dependent specific heat data, a Weiss temperature of $\sim $ 10 K, and diffuse scattering below\textit{ $\sim $}1 K which can be fit to an isotropic model describing spin-spin correlations between third through fifth nearest neighbors support this suggestion. Kondo behavior also plays a role in determining the physical properties of CeCu$_{4}$Ga.