We apply a recent quasiparticle model for the electronic properties of metallic helimagnets to calculate the transport properties of three-dimensional systems in the helically ordered phase. We focus on the ballistic regime tau^2 T epsilon_F >> 1 at weak disorder (large elastic mean-free time tau) or intermediate temperature. In this regime, we find a leading temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity proportional to T. This is much stronger than either the Fermi-liquid contribution (T^2) or the contribution from helimagnon scattering in the clean limit (T^{5/2}). It is reminiscent of the behavior of non-magnetic two-dimensional metals, but the sign of the effect is opposite to that in the non-magnetic case. Experimental consequences of this result are discussed.
Comment on "Theory of helimagnons in itinerant quantum systems" by D.Belitz, T.K.Kirpatrick and A.Rosch and "Cubic magnets with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at low temperatures" by S.V.Maleyev
The nature and effects of the Goldstone mode in the ordered phase of helical or chiral itinerant magnets such as MnSi are investigated theoretically. It is shown that the Goldstone mode, or helimagnon, is a propagating mode with a highly anisotropic dispersion relation, in analogy to the Goldstone mode in chiral liquid crystals. Starting from a microscopic theory, a comprehensive effective theory is developed that allows for an explicit description of the helically ordered phase, including the helimagnons, for both classical and quantum helimagnets. The directly observable dynamical spin susce…
We study the magnetic excitations of itinerant helimagnets by applying time-resolved optical spectroscopy to Fe0.8Co0.2Si. Optically excited oscillations of the magnetization in the helical state are found to disperse to lower frequency as the applied magnetic field is increased; the fingerprint of collective modes unique to helimagnets, known as helimagnons. The use of time-resolved spectroscopy allows us to address the fundamental magnetic relaxation processes by directly measuring the Gilbert damping, revealing the versatility of spin dynamics in chiral magnets. (*These authors contributed …
In two previous papers we studied the problem of electronic properties in a system with long-ranged helimagnetic order caused by itinerant electrons. A standard many-fermion formalism was used. The calculations were quite tedious because different spin projections were coupled in the action, and because of the inhomogeneous nature of a system with long-ranged helimagnetic order. Here we introduce a canonical transformation that diagonalizes the action in spin space, and maps the problem onto a homogeneous fermion problem. This transformation to quasiparticle degrees of freedom greatly simplifi…
A recent theory for the ordered phase of helical or chiral magnets such as MnSi is used to calculate observable consequences of the helical Goldstone modes or helimagnons. In systems with no quenched disorder, the helimagnon contributions to the specific heat coefficient is shown to have a linear temperature dependence, while the quasi-particle inelastic scattering rate is anisotropic in momentum space and depends on the electronic dispersion relation. For cubic lattices the generic temperature dependence is given by a non-Fermi-liquid T^(3/2) behavior. The contribution to the temperature depe…
The Goldstone mode in a helical magnetic phase, also known as the helimagnon, is a propagating mode with a highly anisotropic dispersion relation. Here we study theoretically the helimagnon excitations in a complex chiral ground state of pyrochlore antiferromagnets such as spinel CdCr2O4 and itinerant magnet YMn2. We show that the effective theory of the soft modes in the helical state possesses a symmetry similar to that of smectic liquid crystals. We compute the low-energy spin-wave spectrum based on a microscopic spin Hamiltonian and find a dispersion relation characteristic of the helimagn…
The temperature dependence of the manganese magnetic moment and the spin-lattice relaxation rate measured by the muon spin relaxation technique in the magnetically ordered phase of the chiral intermetallic cubic MnSi system are both explained in terms of helimagnon excitations of a localized spin model. The two free parameters characterizing the helimagnon dispersion relation are determined. A combined analysis of the two data sets cannot be achieved using the self-consistent renormalization theory of spin fluctuations which assumes the magnetism of MnSi to arise uniquely from electronic bands…
New mechanism of magnetoresistivity in itinerant metamagnets with a structural disorder is introduced basing on analysis of experimental results on magnetoresistivity, susceptibility, and magnetization of structurally disordered alloys (Y$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$)Co$_{2}$. In this series, YCo$_{2}$ is an enhanced Pauli paramagnet, whereas GdCo$_{2}$ is a ferrimagnet (T$_{\rm c}$=400 K) with Gd sublattice coupled antiferromagnetically to the itinerant Co-3d electrons. The alloys are paramagnetic for $x < 0.12$. Large positive magnetoresistivity has been observed in the alloys with magnetic ground state …
The fragile nature of itinerant magnetism can be exploited using non-thermal parameters to study quantum criticality. The recently discovered quantum critical point (QCP) in the Sc-doped (hole-like doping) itinerant antiferromagnet TiAu (Ti$_{1-x}$Sc$_{x}$Au) raised questions about the effects of the crystal and electronic structures on the overall magnetic behavior. In this study, doping with V (electron-like doping) in Ti$_{1-x}$V$_{x}$Au introduces chemical disorder which suppresses antiferromagnetic order from $T_{\rm N} =$ 36~K for $x = 0$ down to 10 K for $x =$ 0.15, whereupon a solubili…
The effect of quenched disorder on the multiphase competition has been investigated by examining the pressure phase diagram of half doped manganite Ln0.5B0.5MnO3 (Ln = Sm and Nd) with A-site disorders. Sm0.5Ba0.5MnO3, a spin glass insulator at ambient pressure, switches to a ferromagnetic metal with increasing pressure, followed by a rapid increase of the ferromagnetic transition temperature Tc. The rapid increase of Tc was confirmed also for Nd0.5Ba0.5MnO3. These observations indicate that the unusual suppression of the multicritical phase boundary in the A-site disordered system, previously …
Belitz-Kirkpatrick-Vojta (BKV) theory shows in excellent agreement with experiment that ferromagnetic quantum phase transitions (QPTs) in clean metals are generally first-order due to the coupling of the magnetization to electronic soft modes, in contrast to the classical analogue that is an archetypical second-order phase transition. For disordered metals BKV theory predicts that the second order nature of the QPT is restored because the electronic soft modes change their nature from ballistic to diffusive. Our low-temperature magnetization study identifies the ferromagnetic QPT in the disord…
The electrical resistivity of several relatively clean metallic ferromagnets, as well as the helimagnet MnSi, is commonly observed to exhibit non-Fermi-liquid behavior at low temperatures. This behavior, which is found in both ordered and disordered phases, and both near and away from the magnetic transition, remains a major unsolved problem. We derive and discuss three novel mechanisms underlying such behavior that are based on electron scattering mediated by the exchange of (1) ferromagnons or (2) skyrmionic fluctuations, both in conjunction with weak disorder, or (3) helimagnons in clean sy…
A recent focus of quantum spin liquid (QSL) studies is how disorder/randomness in a QSL candidate affects its true magnetic ground state. The ultimate question is whether the QSL survives disorder or the disorder leads to a "spin-liquid-like" state, such as the proposed random-singlet (RS) state. Since disorder is a standard feature of most QSL candidates, this question represents a major challenge for QSL candidates. YbMgGaO$_4$, a triangular lattice antiferromagnet with effective spin-1/2 Yb$^{3+}$ ions, is an ideal system to address this question, since it shows no long-range magnetic order…
In strongly correlated metals, long-range magnetic order is sometimes found only upon introduction of a minute amount of $disordered$ non-magnetic impurities to the unordered clean samples. To explain such anti-intuitive behavior, we propose a scenario of inducing electronic (magnetic, orbital, or charge) order via chemical disorder in systems with coexisting local moments and itinerant carriers. By disrupting the damaging long-range quantum fluctuation originating from the itinerant carriers, the electronic order preferred by the local moment can be re-established. We demonstrate this mechani…
The formation of new phases close to itinerant electron quantum critical points has been observed experimentally in many compounds. We present a unified analytical model that explains the emergence of new types of order around itinerant ferromagnetic quantum critical points. The central idea of our analysis is that certain Fermi-surface deformations associated with the onset of the competing order enhance the phase-space available for low-energy quantum fluctuations and so self-consistently lower the free energy. We demonstrate that this quantum order-by-disorder mechanism leads to instabiliti…
Effects of disorder are examined in itinerant systems close to quantum critical points. We argue that spin fluctuations associated with the long-range part of the RKKY interactions generically induce non-Ohmic dissipation due to rare disorder configurations. This dissipative mechanism is found to destabilize quantum Griffiths phase behavior in itinerant systems with arbitrary symmetry of the order parameter, leading to the formation of a "cluster glass" phase preceding uniform ordering.
The quantum critical behavior of disordered itinerant ferromagnets is determined exactly by solving a recently developed effective field theory. It is shown that there are logarithmic corrections to a previous calculation of the critical behavior, and that the exact critical behavior coincides with that found earlier for a phase transition of undetermined nature in disordered interacting electron systems. This confirms a previous suggestion that the unspecified transition should be identified with the ferromagnetic transition. The behavior of the conductivity, the tunneling density of states, …
An effective field theory is derived that describes the quantum critical behavior of itinerant ferromagnets as the transition is approached from the ferromagnetic phase. This complements a recent study of the critical behavior on the paramagnetic side of the phase transition, and investigates the role of the ferromagnetic Goldstone modes near criticality. We find that the Goldstone modes have no direct impact on the critical behavior, and that the critical exponents are the same as determined by combining results from the paramagnetic phase with scaling arguments.
An effective field theory is derived for the ferromagnetic transition of diffusive electrons at T=0. The static disorder which leads to diffusive electron dynamics induces an effective long-range interaction between the spins of the form 1/r^(2d-2). This leads to unusual scaling behavior at the quantum critical point, which is determined exactly. The crossover from this quantum fixed point to the classical Heisenberg fixed point should be observable in ferromagnetic materials with low Curie temperatures.
We developed a framework for directly calculating the spin susceptibility of anisotropic itinerant ferromagnets in the full temperature range within the coherent potential approximation in the disordered local moment picture. As a test of our formulation, we demonstrate the computation for the temperature ($T$) dependence of the spin susceptibility for Rashba-type ferromagnets with the Curie temperature $T_\mathrm{C}$. In a certain parameter, we found that the inverse transverse susceptibility $1/χ_\perp\simeq\mathrm{const.}$ for $T<T_\mathrm{C}$ and $1/χ_\perp\propto T-T_\mathrm{C}$ for $T>T_…
An effective field theory is derived that describes the quantum critical behavior of itinerant ferromagnets in the presence of quenched disorder. In contrast to previous approaches, all soft modes are kept explicitly. The resulting effective theory is local and allows for an explicit perturbative treatment. It is shown that previous suggestions for the critical fixed point and the critical behavior are recovered under certain assumptions. The validity of these assumptions is discussed in the light of the existence of two different time scales. It is shown that, in contrast to previous suggesti…
We study the influence of diagonal disorder (random site energy) of local pair (LP) site energies on the superconducting properties of a system of coexisting local pairs and itinerant electrons described by the (hard-core) boson-fermion model. Our analysis shows that the properties of such a model with s-wave pairing can be very strongly affected by the diagonal disorder in LP subsystem (the randomness of the LP site energies). This is in contrast with the conventional s-wave BCS superconductors, which according to the Anderson's theorem are rather insensitive to the diagonal disorder (i.e. to…
We study the influence of quenched disorder on quantum phase transitions in itinerant magnets with Heisenberg spin symmetry, paying particular attention to rare disorder fluctuations. In contrast to the Ising case where the overdamping suppresses the tunneling of the rare regions, the Heisenberg system displays strong power-law quantum Griffiths singularities in the vicinity of the quantum critical point. We discuss these phenomena based on general scaling arguments, and we illustrate them by an explicit calculation for O(N) spin symmetry in the large-N limit. We also discuss broad implication…
A comprehensive theory for electronic transport in itinerant ferromagnets is developed. We first show that the Q-field theory used previously to describe a disordered Fermi liquid also has a saddle-point solution that describes a ferromagnet in a disordered Stoner approximation. We calculate transport coefficients and thermodynamic susceptibilities by expanding about the saddle point to Gaussian order. At this level, the theory generalizes previous RPA-type theories by including quenched disorder. We then study soft-mode effects in the ferromagnetic state in a one-loop approximation. In three-…
The spin wave dispersion relation in both clean and disordered itinerant quantum ferromagnets is calculated. It is found that effects akin to weak-localization physics cause the frequency of the spin-waves to be a nonanalytic function of the magnetization m. For low frequencies Ω, small wavevectors k, and small m, the dispersion relation is found to be of the form Ω~ m^{1-α} k^2, with α= (4-d)/2 (2<d<4) for disordered systems, and α= (3-d) (1<d<3) for clean ones. In d=4 (disordered) and d=3 (clean), Ω~ m ln(1/m) k^2. Experiments to test these predictions are proposed.
Magnetic fluctuations near to quantum criticality can have profound effects. They lead to characteristic scaling at high temperature which may ultimately give way to a reconstruction of the phase diagram and the formation of new phases at low temperatures. The ferromagnet UGe2 is unstable to p-wave superconducting order -- an effect presaged by the superfluidity in He3 -- whereas in CeFePO fluctuations drive the formation of spiral magnetic order. Here we develop a general quantum order-by-disorder description of these systems that encompasses both of these instabilities within a unified frame…
Progress in the understanding of quantum critical properties of itinerant electrons has been hindered by the lack of effective models which are amenable to controlled analytical and numerically exact calculations. Here we establish that the disorder driven semimetal to metal quantum phase transition of three dimensional massless Dirac fermions could serve as a paradigmatic toy model for studying itinerant quantum criticality, which is solved in this work by exact numerical and approximate field theoretic calculations. As a result, we establish the robust existence of a non-Gaussian universalit…
Single crystals of monoclinic La$_{5}$Co$_{2}$Ge$_{3}$ were grown using a self-flux method and were characterized by room-temperature powder X-ray diffraction, anisotropic temperature and field dependent magnetization, temperature dependent resistivity, specific heat, and muon spin rotation. La$_{5}$Co$_{2}$Ge$_{3}$ has a Curie temperature ($T_\mathrm{C}$) of 3.8~K and clear signatures of ferromagnetism in magnetization and $μSR$ data, as well as a clear loss of spin disorder scattering in resistivity data and a sharp specific heat anomaly. The magnetism associated with La$_{5}$Co$_{2}$Ge$_{3}…
We have performed the powder neutron diffraction measurements on the solid solutions of SrRu_{1-x}Mn_xO_3, and found that the itinerant ferromagnetic order observed in pure SrRuO_3 changes into the C-type antiferromagnetic (AF) order with nearly localized d electrons in the intermediate Mn concentration between x=0.4 and 0.6. With increasing x, the AF moment is strongly enhanced from 1.1 mB (x=0.4) to 2.6 mB (x=0.6), which is accompanied by the elongation of the tetragonal c/a ratio. These results suggest that the substitution of Mn for Ru suppresses the itinerant character of the d electrons,…
A Kondo-lattice theory is applied to the crossover between local-moment magnetism for almost half fillings of electrons and itinerant-electron magnetism away from the half filling. In clean systems with no disorder, the bandwidth W^* of quasiparticles is non-zero and of the order of |J| at T=0K even in the limit of the half filling, with J the superexchange interaction constant between nearest neighbors. The so called Gutzwiller's term also contributes to W^* away from the half filling; it is approximately proportional to doping concentrations measured from the half filling. Magnetism is enhan…
We study the effects of dissipation on a disordered quantum phase transition with O$(N)$ order parameter symmetry by applying a strong-disorder renormalization group to the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson field theory of the problem. We find that Ohmic dissipation results in a non-perturbative infinite-randomness critical point with unconventional activated dynamical scaling while superohmic damping leads to conventional behavior. We discuss applications to the superconductor-metal transition in nanowires and to Hertz' theory of the itinerant antiferromagnetic transition.
Elemental chromium orders antiferromagnetically near room temperature, but the ordering temperature can be driven to zero by applying large pressures. We combine diamond anvil cell and synchrotron x-ray diffraction techniques to measure directly the spin and charge order in the pure metal at the approach to its quantum critical point. Both spin and charge order are suppressed exponentially with pressure, well beyond the region where disorder cuts off such a simple evolution, and they maintain a harmonic scaling relationship over decades in scattering intensity. By comparing the development of …
We report the results of magnetic, heat-capacity, electrical and magnetoresistance measurements on Ho4RhAl and Er4RhAl, characterized by 3 sites for rare-earths (R). Antiferromagnetic ordering sets in at (T_N =) about 8.8 and 4.0 K respectively. While Ho compound appears to enter into a complex spin-glass phase at T less thanT_N (at nearly 5 K), spin-glass component appears to set in essentially almost at T_N for the Er case. The loss of the spin-disorder contribution in the magnetically ordered state is not pronounced, mimicking that in Gd2PdSi3, a compound which now attracts interest in the …
The ferrimagnetic spinel $\mathrm{CoV_2O_4}$ has been a topic of intense recent interest, both as a frustrated insulator with unquenched orbital degeneracy and as a near-itinerant magnet which can be driven metallic with moderate applied pressure. Here, we report on our recent neutron diffraction and inelastic scattering measurements on powders with minimal cation site disorder. Our main new result is the identification of a weak ($\frac{Δa}{a} \sim 10^{-4}$), first order structural phase transition at $T^*$ = 90 K, the same temperature where spin canting was seen in recent single crystal meas…
Magnetic HIP-NN for spin dynamics in disordered itinerant magnets
Department of Physics, University of Virginia（弗吉尼亚大学物理系）；Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago（芝加哥大学化学系）；Theoretical Division and CNLS, Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室理论 division 和 CNLS）
We investigate the quantum phase transition of itinerant ferromagnets. It is shown that correlation effects in the underlying itinerant electron system lead to singularities in the order parameter field theory that result in an effective long-range interaction between the spin fluctuations. This interaction turns out to be generically {\em antiferromagnetic} for clean systems. In disordered systems analogous correlation effects lead to even stronger singularities. The resulting long-range interaction is, however, generically ferromagnetic. We discuss two possibilities for the ferromagnetic qua…
The signature for a non-Fermi liquid behavior near a quantum phase transition has been observed in thermal and transport properties of many metallic systems at low temperatures. In the present work we consider specific examples of itinerant ferromagnet as well as antiferromagnet in the limit of vanishing transition temperature. The temperature variation of spin susceptibility, electrical resistivity, specific heat, and NMR relaxation rates at low temperatures is calculated in the limit of infinite exchange enhancement within the frame work of a self consistent spin fluctuation theory. The resu…
To reveal the nature of elementary excitations in a quantum spin liquid (QSL), we measured low temperature thermal conductivity and specific heat of 1T-TaS$_2$, a QSL candidate material with frustrated triangular lattice of spin-1/2. The nonzero temperature linear specific heat coefficient $γ$ and the finite residual linear term of the thermal conductivity in the zero temperature limit $κ_0/T=κ/T(T\rightarrow 0)$ are clearly resolved. This demonstrates the presence of highly mobile gapless excitations, which is consistent with fractionalized spinon excitations that form a Fermi surface. Remark…
We study the effects of quenched charge disorder on the phase reconstruction near itinerant ferromagnetic quantum critical points in three spatial dimensions. Combining a replica disorder average with a fermionic version of the quantum order-by-disorder mechanism, we show that weak disorder destabilizes the ferromagnetic state and enhances the susceptibility towards incommensurate, spiral magnetic ordering. The Goldstone modes of the spiral phase are governed by a 3d-XY model. The induced disorder in the pitch of the spiral generates a random anisotropy for the Goldstone modes, inducing vortex…
We present experimental results on thermoelectric power ({\em S}) and electrical resistivity ($ρ$) of pseudobinary alloys Ho(Al$_x$Co$_{1-x}$)$_2$ ($0 \leq x \leq 0.1 $), in the temperature range 4.2 K to 300 K. The work focuses on the effects of static (induced by alloying) and dynamic (induced by temperature) disorder on the magnetic state and electronic transport in a metallic system with itinerant metamagnetic instability. Spatial fluctuations of the local magnetic susceptibility in the alloys lead to a development of a partially ordered magnetic ground state of the itinerant 3d electron s…
Non-local low energy neutral excitations in a strongly disordered triangular Mott magnet Cr$_3$Se$_2$Br$_5$
University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；Lawrence Berkeley National Lab（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；the University of Texas at Dallas（德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校）；University of Michigan（密歇根大学）；Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室）；University of Houston（休斯顿大学）；CIFAR Quantum Materials（加拿大国际量子材料中心）；Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute（卡弗里能源纳米科学研究所）；Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；Air Force Research Laboratory（空军研究实验室）
We demonstrate that the cluster-glass state emerges as ferromagnetic quantum criticality is avoided in itinerant ferromagnet Sr1-x(La0.5K0.5)xRuO3. In this compound, the ferromagnetic order is suppressed by increasing x, and then disappears at the critical concentration: x=0.5. In this x range, the present study reveals that no prominent feature is ascribed to the quantum critical fluctuations in specific heat. Instead, ac magnetic susceptibility exhibits a broad peak due to spontaneous spin freezing, and the peak temperature depends significantly on the frequency of the applied ac magnetic fi…
Recent experimental studies performed in the normal state of iron-based superconductors have discovered the existence of the $C_4$-symmetric (tetragonal) itinerant magnetic state. This state can be described as a spin density wave with two distinct magnetic vectors ${\vec Q}_1$ and ${\vec Q}_2$. Given an itinerant nature of magnetism in iron-pnictides, we develop a quasiclassical theory of tetragonal magnetic order in disordered three-band metal with anisotropic band structure. Within our model we find that the $C_4$-symmetric magnetism competes with the $C_2$-symmetric state with a single ${\…
We study the quantum phase transition in the three-dimensional disordered itinerant antiferromagnet by Monte-Carlo simulations of the order-parameter field theory. We find strong evidence for the transition being controlled by an infinite-randomness fixed point: The dynamical scaling is activated, i.e., the logarithm of the energy scales like a power of the length, implying a dynamical exponent of infinity. The probability distribution of the energy gaps is very broad and becomes broader with increasing system size, even on a logarithmic scale.
Magnetism in topological materials creates phases exhibiting quantized transport phenomena with applications in spintronics and quantum information. The emergence of such phases relies on strong interaction between localized spins and itinerant states comprising the topological bands, and the subsequent formation of an exchange gap. However, this interaction has never been measured in any intrinsic magnetic topological material. Using a multimodal approach, this exchange interaction is measured in MnBi2Te4, the first realized intrinsic magnetic topological insulator. Interrogating nonequilibri…
We report on a ternary intermetallic compound, "YMn2Zn20", comprising a pyrochlore lattice made of Mn atoms. A series of In-doped single crystals undergo no magnetic long-range order down to 0.4 K, in spite of the fact that the Mn atom carries a local magnetic moment at high temperatures, showing Curie-Weiss magnetism. However, In-rich crystals exhibit spin-glass transitions at approximately 10 K due to a disorder arising from the substitution, while, with decreasing In content, the spin-glass transition temperature is reduced to 1 K. Then, heat capacity divided by temperature approaches a lar…
Magnetic materials with competing magnetocrystalline anisotropy and dipolar energies can develop a wide range of domain patterns, including classical stripe domains, domain branching, as well as topologically trivial and non-trivial (skyrmionic) bubbles. We image the magnetic domain pattern of Fe$_3$Sn$_2$ by magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and study its evolution due to geometric confinement, magnetic fields, and their combination. In Fe$_3$Sn$_2$ lamellae thinner than 3 $μ$m, we observe stripe domains whose size scales with the square root of the lamella thickness, exhibiting classical Kitte…
We present a theory of nonequilibrium quantum criticality in a coupled bilayer system of itinerant electron magnets. The model studied consists of the first layer subjected to an inplane current and open to an external substrate. The second layer is closed and subject to no direct external drive, but couples to the first layer via short-ranged spin exchange interaction. No particle exchange is assumed between the layers. Starting from a microscopic fermionic model, we derive an effective action in terms of two coupled bosonic fields which are related to the magnetization fluctuations of the tw…
It is shown that the phase transition in low-T_c clean itinerant ferromagnets is generically of first order, due to correlation effects that lead to a nonanalytic term in the free energy. A tricritical point separates the line of first order transitions from Heisenberg critical behavior at higher temperatures. Sufficiently strong quenched disorder suppresses the first order transition via the appearance of a critical endpoint. A semi-quantitative discussion is given in terms of recent experiments on MnSi, and predictions for other experiments are made.
A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an exotic state of matter characterized by quantum entanglement and the absence of any broken symmetry. A long-standing open problem, which is a key for fundamental understanding the mysterious QSL states, is how the quantum fluctuations respond to randomness due to quenched disorder. Transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS$_2$ is a candidate material that hosts a QSL ground state with spin-1/2 on the two-dimensional perfect triangular lattice. Here, we performed systematic studies of low-temperature heat capacity and thermal conductivity on pure, Se-substituted a…
We re-examine the experimental results for the magnetic response function $χ''({\bf q}, E, T)$, for ${\bf q}$ around the anti-ferromagnetic vectors ${\bf Q}$, in the quantum-critical region, obtained by inelastic neutron scattering, on an Fe-based superconductor, and on a heavy Fermion compound. The motivation is to compare the results with a recent theory, which shows that the fluctuations in a generic anti-ferromagnetic model for itinerant fermions map to those in the universality class of the dissipative quantum-XY model. The quantum-critical fluctuations in this model, in a range of parame…
The vicinity of quantum phase transitions has proven fertile ground in the search for new quantum phases. We propose a physically motivated and unifying description of phase reconstruction near metallic quantum-critical points using the idea of quantum order-by-disorder. Certain deformations of the Fermi surface associated with the onset of competing order enhance the phase space available for low-energy, particle-hole fluctuations and self-consistently lower the free energy. Applying the notion of quantum order-by-disorder to the itinerant helimagnet MnSi, we show that near to the quantum cri…
In itinerant ferromagnets, the quenched disorder is predicted to dramatically affect the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic quantum phase transition driven by external control parameters at zero temperature. Here we report a study on Fe-doped Cr$_2$B, which, starting from the paramagnetic parent, orders ferromagnetically for Fe-doping concentrations $x$ larger than $x_{\rm c}=2.5$\%. In parent Cr$_2$B, $^{11}$B nuclear magnetic resonance data reveal the presence of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic fluctuations. The latter are suppressed with Fe-doping, before the ferromagnetic ones finally …
We investigate the itinerant ferromagnetism using a diluted spin-fermion model, derived from a repulsive Hubbard model, where itinerant fermions are coupled antiferromagnetically to auxiliary fields in a three-dimensional simple cubic lattice. We focus, in particular, on understanding the spin-dependent transport properties of the itinerant fermions in the impurity band by taking positional disorder of the auxiliary fields into account. For on-site repulsion $U$ $\sim$ bandwidth the density of the itinerant carriers confined to the impurity band, play a key role in determining the kinetic ener…
We consider the quantum ferromagnetic transition at zero temperature in clean itinerant electron systems. We find that the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson order parameter field theory breaks down since the electron-electron interaction leads to singular coupling constants in the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson functional. These couplings generate an effective long-range interaction between the spin or order parameter fluctuations of the form 1/r^{2d-1}, with d the spatial dimension. This leads to unusual scaling behavior at the quantum critical point in 1 < d\leq 3, which we determine exactly. We also discuss t…
We study models of itinerant spinless fermions with random long-range interactions. We motivate such models from descriptions of fermionic atoms in multi-mode optical cavities. The solution of an infinite-range model yields a metallic phase which has glassy charge dynamics, and a localized glass phase with suppressed density of states at low energies. We compare these phases to the conventional disordered Fermi liquid, and the insulating electron glass of semiconductors. Prospects for the realization of such glassy phases in cold atom systems are discussed.
The effects of quenched disorder on the critical properties of itinerant quantum magnets are considered. Particular attention is paid to locally ordered rare regions that are formed in the presence of quenched disorder even when the bulk system is still in the nonmagnetic phase. It is shown that these local moments or instantons destroy the previously found critical fixed point in the case of antiferromagnets. In the case of itinerant ferromagnets, the critical behavior is unaffected by the rare regions due to an effective long-range interaction between the order parameter fluctuations.
Effects of bond randomness and site dilution are systematically investigated for the Kitaev model describing a quantum spin liquid with fractional excitations of itinerant Majorana fermions and localized fluxes. We find that, in the high-temperature region where the itinerant Majorana fermions release their entropy, both types of disorders suppress the longitudinal thermal conductivity while keeping the specific heat almost unchanged. This suggests that both disorders reduce the mean-free path of the Majorana fermions. On the other hand, in the low-temperature region, the other specific heat p…
A theory of Kondo lattices is applied to the crossover between local-moment magnetism and itinerant-electron magnetism in the t-J model on a quasi-two dimensional lattice. The Kondo temperature T_K is defined as a characteristic temperature or energy scale of local quantum spin fluctuations. Magnetism with T_N >> T_K, where T_N is the N\eel temperature, is characterized as local-moment one, while magnetism with T_N << T_K is characterized as itinerant-electron one. The Kondo temperature, which also gives a measure of the strength of the quenching of magnetic moments, is renormalized by the Foc…
We present a field theory for a structurally disordered magnetic system coupled to a metallic environment near a quantum critical point. We show that close to the magnetic quantum critical point droplets are formed due to the disorder and undergo dissipative quantum dynamics. We show that the problem has a characteristic energy scale, the droplet Kondo temperature, that determines the crossover energy scale from weak to strong coupling. Our results have direct significance for the Griffiths-McCoy singularities of itinerant magnets.
