The behavior of magnetic ordering and the KOndo effect in the alloys, Ce2Rh(1-x)Co(x)Si3: Evidence from bulk studies for Fermi-surface change during magnetic ordering - QCP transformation and applicability of SDW pictur
Swapnil Patil, Kartik K Iyer, K. Maiti, E. V. Sampathkumaran
备注：
A slightly modified version will appear in print in PRB. PRB, in press
The results of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity (rho), and heat capacity measurements as a function of temperature are reported for the alloys, Ce2Rh(1-x)Co(x)Si3, crystallizing in an AlB2-derived hexagonal strcture. Ce2RhSi3 exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering at 7 K. The Neel temperature decreases gradually with the increase in Co concentration. For x greater than 0.6, no magnetic ordering is observed down to 0.5 K. Interestingly, the x= 0.6 alloy exhibits signatutes of non-Fermi liquid behavior, while the Co end member is a Fermi liquid. Thus, a transformation of magnetic ordering state to non-magnetism via non-Fermiliquid state by isoelectronic chemical doping is evident in this solid solution. The electrical resistivity data for x= 0.2 and 0.3 alloys show an upturn at respective Neel temperatures, establishing the formation of a magnetism-induced pseudo-gap for these intermediate compositions alone as though there is a gradual Fermi surface transformation as the quantum critical point is approached.
Quantum critical points (QCPs) emerge when a 2nd order phase transition is suppressed to zero temperature. In metals the quantum fluctuations at such a QCP can give rise to new phases including unconventional superconductivity. Whereas antiferromagnetic QCPs have been studied in considerable detail ferromagnetic (FM) QCPs are much harder to access. In almost all metals FM QCPs are avoided through either a change to 1st order transitions or through an intervening spin-density-wave (SDW) phase. Here, we study the prototype of the second case, NbFe$_2$. We demonstrate that the phase diagram can b…
We consider the SU(N) x SU(kappa N) generalization of the spin-isotropic Bose-Fermi Kondo model in the limit of large N. There are three fixed points corresponding to a multi-channel non-Fermi liquid phase, a local spin-liquid phase, and a Kondo-destroying quantum critical point (QCP). We show that the QCP has strong similarities with its counterpart in the single-channel model, even though the Kondo phase is very different from the latter. We also discuss the evolution of the dynamical scaling properties away from the QCP.
We study the impurity entanglement entropy $S_e$ in quantum impurity models that feature a Kondo-destruction quantum critical point (QCP) arising from a pseudogap in the conduction-band density of states or from coupling to a bosonic bath. On the local-moment (Kondo-destroyed) side of the QCP, the entanglement entropy contains a critical component that can be related to the order parameter characterizing the quantum phase transition. In Kondo models describing a spin-$\Simp$, $S_e$ assumes its maximal value of $\ln(2\Simp+1)$ at the QCP and throughout the Kondo phase, independent of features s…
Quantum critical points often arise in metals perched at the border of an antiferromagnetic order. The recent observation of singular and dynamically scaling charge conductivity in an antiferromagnetic quantum critical heavy fermion metal implicates beyond-Landau quantum criticality. Here we study the charge and spin dynamics of a Kondo destruction quantum critical point (QCP), as realized in an SU(2)-symmetric Bose-Fermi Kondo model. We find that the critical exponents and scaling functions of the spin and single-particle responses of the QCP in the SU(2) case are essentially the same as thos…
We demonstrate the existence of metallic spin density waves (SDWs) in the Kondo lattice model on a square lattice for a wide range of parameters by means of real space dynamical mean field theory. In these SDWs, the spin polarization as well as the charge density depend on the lattice site and are modulated along one direction of the square lattice. We show that within this phase of metallic SDWs the Fermi surface changes from small to large, when the coupling strength is increased. Furthermore, the transition between the large Fermi-surface SDW phase and the paramagnetic phase is of second or…
We show, from first-principles calculations, that the hole-doped side of FeAs-based compounds is different from its electron-doped counterparts. The electron side is characterized as Fermi surface nesting, and SDW-to-NM quantum critical point (QCP) is realized by doping. For the hole-doped side, on the other hand, orbital-selective partial orbital ordering develops together with checkboard antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering without lattice distortion. A unique SDW-to-AF QCP is achieved, and $J_2$=$J_1/2$ criteria (in the approximate $J_1&J_2$ model) is satisfied. The observed superconductivity is…
The continuous quantum phase transition and the nature of quantum critical point (QCP) in a modified Kondo lattice model with Ising anisotropic exchange interactions is studied within the density-matrix renormalization group algorithm. We investigate the effect of quantum fluctuations on critical Kondo destruction QCP, by probing static and dynamic properties of the magnetic order and the Kondo effect. In particular, we identify that local Kondo physics itself becomes critical at the magnetic phase transition point, providing unbiased evidences for local quantum criticality between two insulat…
The optical conductivity of a metal near a quantum critical point (QCP) is expected to depend on frequency not only via the scattering time but also via the effective mass, which acquires a singular frequency dependence near a QCP. We check this assertion by computing diagrammatically the optical conductivity, $σ' (Ω)$, near both nematic and spin-density wave (SDW) quantum critical points (QCPs) in 2D. If renormalization of current vertices is not taken into account, $σ' (Ω)$ is expressed via the quasiparticle residue $Z$ (equal to the ratio of bare and renormalized masses in our approximation…
Neutron diffraction measurements on single crystals of Cr1-xVx (x=0, 0.02, 0.037) show that the ordering moment and the Neel temperature are continuously suppressed as x approaches 0.037, a proposed Quantum Critical Point (QCP). The wave vector Q of the spin density wave (SDW) becomes more incommensurate as x increases in accordance with the two band model. At xc=0.037 we have found temperature dependent, resolution limited elastic scattering at 4 incommensurate wave vectors Q=(1+/-delta_1,2, 0, 0)*2pi/a, which correspond to 2 SDWs with Neel temperatures of 19 K and 300 K. Our neutron diffract…
Kondo-lattice theory for the t-J model and a phenomenological theory based on it are developed to study superconductivity in the vicinity of the Mott metal-insulator transition. Since the quenching of magnetic moments by single-site quantum spin fluctuations or the Kondo effect is reduced by the opening of a superconducting gap, spin density wave (SDW) can appear in a superconducting state and the Knight shift can deviate from the Yosida function to be small. The electron-phonon interaction, which arises from the modulation of the superexchange interaction by phonons, is crucial in the coexist…
Quantum phase transitions (QPTs) arise as a result of competing interactions in a quantum many-body system. Kondo lattice models, containing a lattice of localized magnetic moments and a band of conduction electrons, naturally feature such competing interactions. A Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) exchange interaction among the local moments promotes magnetic ordering. However, a Kondo exchange interaction between the local moments and conduction electrons favors the Kondo-screened singlet ground state. This chapter summarizes the basic physics of QPTs in antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice sy…
We show within the slave boson technique, that the Anderson lattice model exhibits a Kondo breakdown quantum critical point (KB-QCP) where the hybridization goes to zero at zero temper- ature. At this fixed point, the f-electrons experience as well a selective Mott transition separating a local-moment phase from a Kondo-screened phase. The presence of a multi-scale QCP in the An- derson lattice in the absence of magnetism is discussed in the context of heavy fermion compounds. This study is the first evidence for a selective Mott transition in the Anderson lattice.
We study a magnetic field effect on the Non-Fermi Liquid (NFL) which arises around the quantum critical point (QCP) due to the competition between the f^2-crystalline-electric-field singlet and the Kondo-Yosida singlet states by using the numerical renormalization ground method. We show the characteristic temperature T_F^*, corresponding to a peak of a specific heat, is not affected by the magnetic field up to H_z^* which is determined by the distance from the QCP or characteristic energy scales of each singlet states. As a result, in the vicinity of QCP, there are parameter regions where the …
We propose that the thermoelectric power distinguishes two competing scenarios for quantum phase transitions in heavy fermions : the spin-density-wave (SDW) theory and breakdown of the Kondo effect. In the Kondo breakdown scenario, the Seebeck coefficient turns out to collapse from the temperature scale $E^{*}$, associated with quantum fluctuations of the Fermi surface reconfiguration. This feature differs radically from the physics of the SDW theory, where no reconstruction of the Fermi surface occurs, and can be considered as the hallmark of the Kondo breakdown theory. We test these ideas, u…
The appearance of unconventional superconductivity near heavy-fermion quantum critical points (QCPs) motivates investigation of pairing correlations close to a ``beyond Landau'' Kondo-destruction QCP. We focus on a two-Anderson-impurity cluster in which Kondo destruction is induced by a pseudogap in the conduction-electron density of states. Analysis via continuous-time quantum Monte-Carlo and the numerical renormalization group reveals a previously unstudied QCP that both displays the critical-local moment fluctuations characteristic of Kondo destruction and leads to a strongly enhanced singl…
The identification of magnetic quantum critical points in heavy fermion metals has provided an ideal setting for experimentally studying quantum criticality. Motivated by these experiments, considerable theoretical efforts have recently been devoted to reexamine the interplay between Kondo screening and magnetic interactions in Kondo lattice systems. A local quantum critical picture has emerged, in which magnetic interactions suppress Kondo screening precisely at the magnetic quantum critical point (QCP). The Fermi surface undergoes a large reconstruction across the QCP and the coherence scale…
In quantum critical heavy fermion systems, local moments are coupled to both collective spin fluctuations and conduction electrons. As such, the Bose-Fermi Kondo model, describing the coupling of a local moment to both a bosonic and a fermionic bath, has been of extensive interest. For the model in the presence of SU(2) spin rotational symmetry, questions have been raised about its phase diagram. Here we develop a version of continuous-time Quantum Monte Carlo (CT-QMC) method suitable for addressing this issue; this procedure can reach sufficiently low temperatures while preserving the SU(2) s…
We report resistivity measurements under pressure for Kondo-lattice ferromagnet CeRh$_6$Ge$_4$, and present that a quantum ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition is easily achieved. In most clean metallic ferromagnets, a quantum critical point (QCP) at zero field is avoided by changing the FM transition to a discontinuous transition or to an antiferromagnetic transition. In CeRh$_6$Ge$_4$, to the contrary, the Curie temperature of 2.5 K decreases continuously as increasing pressure without any clear signature that the transition changes to first order. The obvious non Fermi liquid behavior is obs…
The quantum critical point (QCP) in the archetypical heavy-fermion compound CeCu$_6$ doped by Au is described, accounting for the localized $4f$-electron of Ce, using realistic electronic structure calculations combined with dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). Magnetism trends in Ce(Cu$_{1-ε}$Au$_ε$)$_6$ are compared with those in Co-doped CeCu$_{5}$, which resides on the non-ferromagnetic side of the composition space of one of the earliest rare-earth permanent magnet compounds, Ce(Co,Cu)$_5$. The construction of a realistic Doniach phase diagram shows that the system crosses over a magnetic …
A bilayer system comprising a Kondo insulator coupled to a simple metal (KI-M) is considered. Employing the framework of dynamical mean field theory, the model system is shown to exhibit a surface of quantum critical points (QCPs), that separates a Kondo screened, Fermi liquid phase from a local moment, Mott insulating phase. The quantum critical nature of these Mott transitions is characterized by the vanishing of (a) the coherence scale on the Fermi liquid side, and (b) the Mott gap on the MI side. In contrast to the usual `large to small' Fermi surface (FS) QCPs in heavy fermion systems, th…
The Anderson impurity model with a density of states $ρ(\varepsilon) \propto |\varepsilon|^r$ containing a power-law pseudogap centered on the Fermi energy ($\varepsilon = 0$) features for $0<r<1$ a Kondo-destruction quantum critical point (QCP) separating Kondo-screened and local-moment phases. The observation of mixed valency in quantum critical $β$-YbAlB$_4$ has prompted study of this model away from particle-hole symmetry. The critical spin response associated with all Kondo destruction QCPs has been shown to be accompanied, for $r=0.6$ and noninteger occupation of the impurity site, by a …
One of the challenges in strongly correlated electron systems, is to understand the anomalous electronic behavior that develops at an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point (QCP), a phenomenon that has been extensively studied in heavy fermion materials. Current theories have focused on the critical spin fluctuations and associated break-down of the Kondo effect. Here we argue that the abrupt change in Fermi surface volume that accompanies heavy fermion criticality leads to critical charge fluctuations. Using a model one dimensional Kondo lattice in which each moment is connected to a separa…
We analyse several thermodynamic properties of the two-dimensional Kondo necklace using finite-temperature stochastic series expansion. In agreement with previous zero-temperature findings the model is shown to exhibit a quantum critical point (QCP), separating an antiferromagnetic from a paramagnetic dimerized state at a critical Kondo exchange-coupling strength $J_{c}\approx 1.4$. We evaluate the temperature dependent uniform and staggered structure factors as well as the uniform and staggered susceptibilities and the local 'impurity' susceptibility close to the QCP as well as in the ordered…
By using an extended mean-field theory, we study the phase diagram of the topological Kondo lattice model on the honeycomb lattice at half-filling in which the conduction electrons are described by the Haldane model. Besides the well-defined Kondo insulator and normal antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave (N-SDW) state, it is found that a nontrivial topological antiferromagnetic SDW state (T-SDW) with a quantized Hall conductance is possible if the quasiparticle gap is dominated by the next-nearest-neighbor hopping rather than the antiferromagnetic order. By analyzing the low-energy effective Ch…
Transport measurements in the hole-doped cuprates show a "strange metal" normal state with an electrical resistance which varies linearly with temperature. This strange metal phase is often identified with the quantum critical region of a zero temperature quantum critical point (QCP) at hole density x=x_m, near optimal doping. A long-standing problem with this picture is that low temperature experiments within the superconducting phase have not shown convincing signatures of such a optimal doping QCP (except in some cuprates with small superconducting critical temperatures). I review theoretic…
The pseudogap Anderson impurity model is a paradigm for locally critical quantum phase transitions. Within the framework of the local moment approach we study its finite-T dynamics, as embodied in the single-particle spectrum, in the vicinity of the symmetric quantum critical point (QCP) separating generalized Fermi-liquid (Kondo screened) and local moment phases. The scaling spectra in both phases, and at the QCP itself, are obtained analytically. A key result is that pure omega/T-scaling obtains at the QCP, where the Kondo resonance has just collapsed. The connection between the scaling spec…
The strange metal phases found to develop in a wide range of materials near a quantum critical point (QCP), have posed a long-standing mystery. The frequent association of strange metals with unconventional superconductivity and antiferromagnetic QCPs has led to a belief that they are highly entangled quantum states. Ferromagnets, by contrast are regarded as an unlikely setting for strange metals, for they are weakly entangled and their QCPs are often interrupted by competing phases or first order phase transitions. Here, we provide compelling evidence that the stoichiometric heavy fermion fer…
We provide strong evidence of a quantum critical point (QCP) associated with the destruction of Kondo screening in the Anderson-Hubbard model for interacting electrons with quenched disorder. A unique crossover energy scale, $ω^*$ separating the Fermi liquid and non-Fermi liquid (nFL) scattering dynamics on the metallic side of the quantum critical fan is identified. The scale vanishes at the disorder driven QCP. We interpret our results by measuring the distribution of Kondo scales and find that the QCP occurs when this distribution acquires a finite intercept, indicating a Kondo destruction …
The magnetic fluctuations associated with a quantum critical point (QCP) are widely believed to cause the non-Fermi liquid behaviors and unconventional superconductivities, for example, in heavy fermion systems and high temperature cuprate superconductors. Recently, superconductivity has been discovered in iron-based layered compound $LaO_{1-x}F_xFeAs$ with $T_c$=26 K\cite{yoichi}, and it competes with spin-density-wave (SDW) order\cite{dong}. Neutron diffraction shows a long-rang SDW-type antiferromagnetic (AF) order at $\sim 134$ K in LaOFeAs\cite{cruz,mcguire}. Therefore, a possible QCP and…
The normal state of the iron arsenides shows the poor metallic behavior mixed with strong magnetic fluctuations. In particular, some FeAs-1111 and FeAs-122 compounds show the linear-T dependence of susceptibility above the spin-density wave (SDW) transition and the logarithmic upturn of resistivity at low temperatures. We suggest that this is due to the spin-flip scattering between the charge carriers and the local moments in the undoped FeAs layer where Kondo effect coexists with the SDW. This scenario is also accounted for the change of the magnetoresistance from positive to negative in the …
We investigate the evolution of the electronic structure of Ce2Rh{1-x}CoxSi3 as a function of x employing high resolution photoemission spectroscopy. Co substitution at the Rh sites in antiferromagnetic Ce2RhSi3 leads to a transition from an antiferromagnetic system to a Kondo system, Ce2CoSi3 via the Quantum Critical Point (QCP). High resolution photoemission spectra reveal distinct signature of the Kondo resonance feature (KRF) and its spin orbit split component (SOC) in the whole composition range indicating finite Kondo temperature scale at the quantum critical point. We observe that the i…
A theory of Kondo lattices is applied to studying possible magnetic and charge structures of itinerant-electron antiferromagnets. Even helical spin structures can be stabilized when the nesting of the Fermi surface is not sharp and the superexchange interaction, which arises from the virtual exchange of pair excitations across the Mott-Hubbard gap, is mainly responsible for magnetic instability. Sinusoidal spin structures or spin density waves (SDW) are only stabilized when the nesting of the Fermi surface is sharp enough and a novel exchange interaction arising from that of pair excitations o…
Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) can microscopically probe both conduction electrons (ce) and local moment (LM) spin systems in different materials. A ce spin resonance (CESR) is observed in metallic systems based on light elements or with enhanced Pauli susceptibility. LM ESR is frequently seen in compounds with paramagnetic ions and localized d or f electrons. Here we report a remarkable and unprecedented ESR signal in the heavy fermion (HF) superconductor beta-YbAlB4[1] which behaves as a CESR at high temperatures and acquires characteristics of the Yb3+ LM ESR at low temperature. This dual be…
We consider an s-wave superconductor in the vicinity of a second-order ferromagnetic (FM) or spin-density-wave (SDW) quantum critical point (QCP), where the superconductivity and magnetism arise from separate mechanisms. The quantum critical spin fluctuations reduce the superconducting T_c. Near a FM QCP, we find that T_c falls to zero as 1/|ln kappa| in 3D and as kappa in 2D, where kappa ~ |J-J_c|^nu is the inverse correlation length of the spin fluctuations, and measures the distance |J-J_c| from the quantum critical point. SDW quantum critical fluctuations, on the other hand, suppress T_c t…
We solve the 3D periodic Anderson model via two impurity DMFT. We obtain the temperature v.s. hybridization phase diagram. In approaching the quantum critical point (QCP) both the Neel and lattice Kondo temperatures decrease and they do not cross at the lowest temperature we reached. While strong ferromagnetic spin fluctuation on the Kondo side is observed, our result indicates the critical static spin susceptibility is local in space at the QCP. We observe in the crossover region logarithmic temperature dependence in the specific heat coefficient and spin susceptibility.
The numerical renormalization group is used to study quantum entanglement in the Kondo impurity model with a pseudogapped density of states $ρ(\varepsilon)\propto|\varepsilon|^r$ ($r>0$) that vanishes at the Fermi energy $\varepsilon=0$. The model features a Kondo-destruction quantum critical point (QCP) separating a partially screened phase (reached for impurity-band exchange couplings $J>J_c$) from a local-moment phase ($J<J_c$). The impurity contribution $S_e^{imp}$ to the entanglement entropy between a region of radius $R$ around the magnetic impurity and the rest of the host system reveal…
We calculate the differential conductance as a function of temperature and bias voltage, $G(T,V)$, through Au monoatomic chains with a substitutional Co atom as a magnetic impurity, connected to a four-fold symmetric lead. The system was recently proposed as a possible scenario for observation of the overscreened Kondo physics. Stretching the chain, the system could be tuned through a quantum critical point (QCP) with three different regimes, overscreened, underscreened and non Kondo phases. We present calculations of the impurity spectral function by using the numerical renormalization group …
The easily tuned balance among competing interactions in Kondo-lattice metals allows access to a zero-temperature, continuous transition between magnetically ordered and disordered phases, a quantum-critical point (QCP). Indeed, these highly correlated electron materials are prototypes for discovering and exploring quantum-critical states. Theoretical models proposed to account for the strange thermodynamic and electrical transport properties that emerge around the QCP of a Kondo lattice assume the presence of an indefinitely large number of itinerant charge carriers. Here, we report a systema…
We obtain the phase diagram and thermodynamic behavior of the Kondo necklace model for arbitrary dimensions $d$ using a representation for the localized and conduction electrons in terms of local Kondo singlet and triplet operators. A decoupling scheme on the double time Green's functions yields the dispersion relation for the excitations of the system. We show that in $d\geq 3$ there is an antiferromagnetically ordered state at finite temperatures terminating at a quantum critical point (QCP). In 2-d, long range magnetic order occurs only at T=0. The line of Neel transitions for $d>2$ varies …
We investigate the competition between superconductivity, charge-ordering, magnetic-ordering, and the Kondo effect in a heavy fermion $s$-wave superconductor described by a Kondo lattice model with an attractive on-site Hubbard interaction. The model is solved using the real-space dynamical mean field theory. For this purpose, we develop a numerical renormalization group (NRG) framework in Nambu space, which is used to solve the superconducting impurity problem. This extended NRG scheme also allows for SU(2) spin symmetry broken solutions, enabling us to examine the competition or cooperation …
We study the mechanism how critical end points of first-order valence transitions are controlled by a magnetic field. We show that the critical temperature is suppressed to be a quantum critical point (QCP) by a magnetic field and unexpectedly the QCP exhibits nonmonotonic field dependence in the ground-state phase diagram, giving rise to emergence of metamagnetism even in the intermediate valence-crossover regime. The driving force of the field-induced QCP is clarified to be cooperative phenomena of Zeeman effect and Kondo effect, which create a distinct energy scale from the Kondo temperatur…
One of the most successful paradigms of many-body physics is the concept of quasiparticles: excitations in strongly interacting matter behaving like weakly interacting particles in free space. Quasiparticles in metals are very robust objects. Yet, when a system's ground state undergoes a qualitative change at a quantum critical point (QCP), the quasiparticles may disintegrate and give way to an exotic quantum-fluid state of matter. The nature of this breakdown is intensely debated, because the emergent quantum fluid dominates the material properties up to high temperature and might even be rel…
The heavy-fermion metal YbRh$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ is a weak antiferromagnet below $T_{N} = 0.07$ K. Application of a low magnetic field $B_{c} = 0.06$ T ($\perp c$) is sufficient to continuously suppress the antiferromagnetic (AF) order. Below $T \approx 10$ K, the Sommerfeld coefficient of the electronic specific heat $γ(T)$ exhibits a logarithmic divergence. At $T < 0.3$ K, $γ(T) \sim T^{-ε}$ ($ε: 0.3 - 0.4$), while the electrical resistivity $ρ(T) = ρ_{0} + aT$ ($ρ_{0}$: residual resistivity). Upon extrapolating finite-$T$ data of transport and thermodynamic quantities to $T = 0$, one observes (i)…
We propose a universal scaling rho*chi=const of the electrical resistivity rho with the inverse magnetic susceptibility chi^(-1) below the temperature of the quantum-coherence onset for the Ce 4f states in CeRhSb(1-x)Sn(x). In the regime, where the Kondo gap disappears (x~0.12), the system forms a non-Fermi liquid (NFL), which transforms into a Fermi liquid at higher temperature. The NFL behavior is attributed to the presence of a novel quantum critical point (QCP) at the Kondo insulator - correlated metal boundary. The divergent behavior of the resistivity, the susceptibility, and the specifi…
We report bulk superconductivity induced by an isovalent doping of phosphorus in BaFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$. The P-for-As substitution results in shrinkage of lattice, especially for the FeAs block layers. The resistivity anomaly associated with the spin-density-wave (SDW) transition in the undoped compound is gradually suppressed by the P doping. Superconductivity with the maximum $T_c$ of 30 K emerges at $x$=0.32, coinciding with a magnetic quantum critical point (QCP) which is evidenced by the disappearance of SDW order and the linear temperature-dependent resistivity in the normal…
A detailed $^{31}$P (I=1/2) and $^{75}$As (I=3/2) NMR study on polycrystalline CeFeAs$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$O alloys is presented. The magnetism of CeFeAsO changes drastically upon P substitution on the As site. CeFePO is a heavy fermion system without long range order whereas CeFeAsO exhibits a Fe-3$d$ SDW type of ordering accompanied by a structural transition from tetragonal ($TT$) to orthorhombic ($OT$) structure. Furthermore Ce-4$f^{1}$ orders antiferromagnetically (AFM) at low temperature. At the critical concentration where the Fe-magnetism is diminished the Ce-Ce interaction changes to a ferro…
A quantum critical point (QCP) develops in a material at absolute zero when a new form of order smoothly emerges in its ground state. QCPs are of great current interest because of their singular ability to influence the finite temperature properties of materials. Recently, heavy-fermion metals have played a key role in the study of antiferromagnetic QCPs. To accommodate the heavy electrons, the Fermi surface of the heavy-fermion paramagnet is larger than that of an antiferromagnet. An important unsolved question concerns whether the Fermi surface transformation at the QCP develops gradually, a…
The mechanism of how critical end points of the first-order valence transitions (FOVT) are controlled by a magnetic field is discussed. We demonstrate that the critical temperature is suppressed to be a quantum critical point (QCP) by a magnetic field. This results explain the field dependence of the isostructural FOVT observed in Ce metal and YbInCu_4. Magnetic field scan can lead to reenter in a critical valence fluctuation region. Even in the intermediate-valence materials, the QCP is induced by applying a magnetic field, at which the magnetic susceptibility also diverges. The driving force…
We report the results of ac susceptibility chi measurements for various compositions of the series, Ce_2Pd_{1-x}Co_xSi_3, in the polycrystalline form, which has been previously reported to undergo a transformation from magnetic ordering to non-magnetic Kondo lattice behavior as x is varied from 0 to 1. A finding of emphasis here is that the features in ac chi data for the compositions, x = 0.6 and 0.7, in the close vicinity of quantum critical point (QCP), are typical of long range magnetic ordering systems, whereas the compositions far away from QCP at the Pd-end including Ce_2PdSi_3 exhibit …
Amongst the rare-earth perovskite nickelates, LaNiO$_3$ (LNO) is an exception. While the former have insulating and antiferromagnetic ground states, LNO remains metallic and non-magnetic down to the lowest temperatures. It is believed that LNO is a strange metal, on the verge of an antiferromagnetic instability. Our work suggests that LNO is a quantum critical metal, close to an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point (QCP). The QCP behavior in LNO is manifested in epitaxial thin films with unprecedented high purities. We find that the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the resisti…
We study both the electrical and thermal transport near the heavy-fermion quantum critical point (QCP), identified with the breakdown of the Kondo effect as an orbital selective Mott transition. We show that the contribution to the electrical conductivity comes mainly from conduction electrons while the thermal conductivity is given by both conduction electrons and localized fermions (spinons), scattered with dynamical exponent $z = 3$. This scattering mechanism gives rise to a quasi-linear temperature dependence of the electrical and thermal resistivity. The characteristic feature of the Kond…
In this paper the low-temperature properties of two isostructural canonical heavy-fermion compounds are contrasted with regards to the interplay between antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum criticality and superconductivity. For CeCu$_2$Si$_2$, fully-gapped d-wave superconductivity forms in the vicinity of an itinerant three-dimensional heavy-fermion spin-density-wave (SDW) quantum critical point (QCP). Inelastic neutron scattering results highlight that both quantum critical SDW fluctuations as well as Mott-type fluctuations of local magnetic moments contribute to the formation of Cooper pairs in C…
We report the Nernst effect (v) and thermoelectric power (S) data for the Ce2PdIn8 heavy-fermion compound. Both S and v behave anomalously at low temperatures: the thermopower shows a Kondo-like maximum at T = 37 K, while the Nernst coefficient becomes greatly enhanced and field dependent below T ~ 30 K. In the zero-T limit S/T and v/T diverge logarithmically, what is related to occurrence of the quantum critical point (QCP). Presented results suggest that the antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave scenario may be applicable to QCP in Ce2PdIn8.
We report Knight shift experiments on the superconducting heavy electron material CeCoIn$_5$ that allow one to track with some precision the behavior of the heavy electron Kondo liquid in the superconducting state with results in agreement with BCS theory. An analysis of the $^{115}$In nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spin-lattice relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}$ measurements under pressure reveals the presence of 2d magnetic quantum critical fluctuations in the heavy electron component that are a promising candidate for the pairing mechanism in this material. Our results are consistent with an an…
CeRh2As2 has recently been reported to be a rare case of multi-phase unconventional superconductor [S. Khim et al., arXiv:2101.09522] close to a quantum critical point (QCP). Here, we present a comprehensive study of its normal state properties and of the phase (I) below To ~ 0.4 K which preempts superconductivity at Tc = 0.26 K. The 2nd-order phase transition at To presents signatures in specific heat and thermal expansion, but none in magnetization and ac-susceptibility, indicating a non-magnetic origin of phase I. In addition, an upturn of the in-plane resistivity at To points to a gap open…
