In the hidden order of URu2Si2 the resistivity at very low temperature shows no T^2 behavior above the transition to superconductivity. However, when entering the antiferromagnetic phase, the Fermi liquid behavior is recovered. We discuss the change of the inelastic term when entering the AF phase with pressure considering the temperature dependence of the Grueneisen parameter at ambient pressure and the influence of superconductivity by an extrapolation of high field data.
On an assumption that the HO is the antiferro-quadrupolar order with Γ_{5} (Q_{z(x+y)} and Q_{z(x-y)}) symmetry, the anisotropy in temperature dependence of resistivity (ρ_{c}\propto T^{2}, and ρ_{ab}\propto T) in the HO phase of URu_2Si_2 is explained.
We report high-resolution inelastic x ray scattering measurements of the acoustic phonons of URu2Si2. We observe minimal change in the phonon structure upon entering the Hidden Order phase. At all temperatures, the longitudinal acoustic phonons are anomalously broad at low q. There is no evidence to suggest that the increase in thermal conductivity in the Hidden Order phase is driven by a change in phonon dispersions or lifetimes. A more likely explanation is that the magnetic excitations in the Hidden Order state contribute to thermal transport.
We propose a general scheme for the derivation of the signals resonant inelastic (and elastic) x-ray scattering (RIXS) gives access to. In particular, we find that RIXS should allow to directly detect many hidden orders, such as spin nematic, bond nematic, vector and scalar spin chiralities. To do so, we choose to take the point of view of effective operators, leaving microscopic details unspecified, but still keeping experimentally-controllable parameters explicit, like the incoming and outgoing polarizations of the x-rays. We ask not what microscopic processes can lead to a specific outcome,…
The strange metal phase of optimally and overdoped cuprates exhibits a number of anomalous transport properties: unsaturating linear T resistivity, distinct relaxation times for Hall angle and resistivity, temperature dependent anisotropic relaxation times, and a characteristic crossover from supposed Fermi Liquid to linear T behavior. All receive natural explanations and quantitative fits in terms of the Hidden Fermi Liquid theory.
We investigate the transport properties of a correlated metal within dynamical mean field theory. Canonical Fermi liquid behavior emerges only below a very low temperature scale $T_{FL}$. Surprisingly the quasiparticle scattering rate follows a quadratic temperature dependence up to much higher temperatures and crosses over to saturated behavior around a temperature scale $T_{sat}$. We identify these quasiparticles as constituents of the hidden Fermi liquid. The non-Fermi liquid transport above $T_{FL}$, in particular the linear-in-$T$ resistivity, is shown to be a result of a strongly tempera…
Anomalous transport behavior -- both longitudinal and Hall -- is the defining characteristic of the strange-metal state of High-Tc cuprates. The temperature, frequency, and magnetic field dependence of the resistivity is understood within strange metal phenomenology as resulting from energy-scale competition to set the inelastic relaxation rate. The anomalously strong temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient, however, is at odds with this phenomenology. Here we report measurements of the Hall resistivity in the strange metal state of cuprates over a broad range of magnetic fields and tem…
In contrast to almost all anisotropic superconductors, the upper critical field of URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ is larger when the field is oriented along the less conducting direction. We present a study of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient extended down to sub-Kelvin temperature range uncovering a singular case of anisotropy. When the current is injected along the c-axis URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ behaves as a low-density Fermi liquid. When it flows along the a-axis, even in presence of a large field, resistivity remains T-linear down to T$_{c}$ and the Seebeck coefficient undergoes a sign change at very low …
Detailed structural and magnetotransport properties of the monophosphate tungsten bronze K$_{x}$P$_4$W$_{8}$O$_{32}$ single crystals are reported. Both galvanomagnetic and thermal properties are shown to be consistent with a charge density wave electronic transition due to hidden nesting of quasi - 1D portion of the Fermi surface. We also observe the enhancement of electronic anisotropy due to reconstruction of the Fermi surface at the Peierls transition. The resistivity presents a thermal hysteresis suggesting a first order nature characteristics of a strong coupling scenario. However, other …
We report on Hall resistivity and electrical resistivity measurements under pressure and magnetic field in UGe_2 with ferromagnetic (FM) tricriticality. The Hall resistivity sensitively detects the first order metamagnetic transition from a paramagnetic (PM) phase to a FM phase in a large pressure range almost up to the quantum critical end point (QCEP). The drastic change in the Fermi surface at the PM-FM transition is detected up to the vicinity of the QCEP, while a strong modification in the field variation of the inelastic scattering between electrons is observed toward the QCEP. The compa…
Systematic analysis of the planar resistivity, Hall effect and cotangent of the Hall angle for the electron-doped cuprates reveals underlying Fermi-liquid behavior even deep in the antiferromagnetic part of the phase diagram. The transport scattering rate exhibits a quadratic temperature dependence, and is nearly independent of doping, compound and carrier type (electrons vs. holes), and hence universal. Our analysis moreover indicates that the material-specific resistivity upturn at low temperatures and low doping has the same origin in both electron- and hole-doped cuprates.
A review of recent state-of-the-art pulsed field experiments performed on URu$_2$Si$_2$ under a magnetic field applied along its easy magnetic axis $\mathbf{c}$ is given. Resistivity, magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, Shubnikov-de Haas, and neutron diffraction experiments are presented, permitting to emphasize the relationship between Fermi surface reconstructions, the destruction of the hidden-order and the appearance of a spin-density wave state in a high magnetic field.
We investigated the ground state symmetry of the cubic hidden order compound CeB$_6$ by means of core level non-resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NIXS). The information is obtained from the directional dependence of the scattering function that arises from higher than dipole transitions. Our new method confirms that the ground state is well described using a localized crystal-field model assuming a $Γ_8$ quartet ground state.
We address two long-standing questions regarding the hidden order in URu2Si2: Is it associated with the hybridization process, and what are the distinct roles played by the localized and itinerant electrons? Our quasiparticle scattering spectroscopy reveals a hybridization gap ubiquitous in the entire phase space spanned by P and Fe substitutions in URu2Si2, including the no-order and antiferromagnetic regions, with minimal change upon crossing the phase boundary. This indicates its opening isn't associated with the ordering, and thus localized electrons must be the major player. Towards a con…
The pressure--temperature phase diagram of CeRhIn_5 has been studied under high magnetic field by resistivity measurements. Clear signatures of a quantum critical point has been found at a critical pressure of p_c = 2.5 GPa. The field induced magnetic state in the superconducting state is stable up to the highest field. At p_c the antiferromagnetic ground-state under high magnetic field collapses very rapidly. Clear signatures of p_c are the strong enhancement of the resistivity in the normal state and of the inelastic scattering term. No clear T2 temperature dependence could be found for pres…
We use inelastic neutron scattering measurements to show that the energy gap in the magnetic excitations of URu$_2$Si$_2$, induced by the Hidden Order transition, is closed by Re substitution. The magnetic excitations remain ungapped in compositions where the specific heat anomaly associated with Hidden Order is no longer observed, which means that the entropy associated with Hidden Order is tied mostly to the magnetic gapping. Further, the onset of ferromagnetic order does not gap the excitations, reflecting the fact that Re substitution does not dramatically affect the Kondo lattice hybridiz…
We report a sudden reversal in the pressure dependence of Tc in the iron-based superconductor CsFe2As2, similar to that discovered recently in KFe2As2 [Tafti et al., Nat. Phys. 9, 349 (2013)]. As in KFe2As2, we observe no change in the Hall coefficient at the zero temperature limit, again ruling out a Lifshitz transition across the critical pressure Pc. We interpret the Tc reversal in the two materials as a phase transition from one pairing state to another, tuned by pressure, and investigate what parameters control this transition. Comparing samples of different residual resistivity, we find …
The pressure-dependence of the hidden order phase transition of URu2Si2 is shown to depend sensitively upon the quality of hydrostatic pressure conditions during electrical resistivity measurements. Hysteresis in pressure is demonstrated for two choices of pressure medium: the commonly-used mixture of 1:1 Fluorinert FC70/FC77 and pure FC75. In contrast, no hysteresis is observed when the pressure medium is a 1:1 mixture of n-pentane/isoamyl alcohol, as it remains hydrostatic over the entire studied pressure range. Possible ramifications for the interpretation of the temperature-pressure phase …
We present measurements of the resistivity $ρ_{x,x}$ of URu2Si2 high-quality single crystals in pulsed high magnetic fields up to 81~T at a temperature of 1.4~K and up to 60~T at temperatures down to 100~mK. For a field \textbf{H} applied along the magnetic easy-axis \textbf{c}, a strong sample-dependence of the low-temperature resistivity in the hidden-order phase is attributed to a high carrier mobility. The interplay between the magnetic and orbital properties is emphasized by the angle-dependence of the phase diagram, where magnetic transition fields and crossover fields related to the Fer…
Among colossal magnetoresistive manganites the prototypical ferromagnetic manganite La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ has a relatively small magnetoresistance, and has been long assumed to have only weak electron-lattice coupling. Here we report that La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ has strong electron-phonon coupling: Our neutron and x-ray scattering experiments show strong softening and broadening of transverse acoustic phonons on heating through the Curie temperature T$_C$ = 350 K. Simultaneously, we observe two phases where metallic resistivity and polarons coexist. The ferromagnetic polaronic me…
We present a comprehensive set of elastic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a range of Fe-doped samples of U(Ru$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$)$_2$Si$_2$ with 0.01~$\le~x~\le$~0.15. All of the samples measured exhibit long-range antiferromagnetic order, with the size of the magnetic moment quickly increasing to 0.51~$μ_B$ at 2.5\% doping and continuing to increase monotonically with doping, reaching 0.69~$μ_B$ at 15\% doping. Time-of-flight and inelastic triple-axis measurements show the existence of excitations at (1~0~0) and (1.4~0~0) in all samples, which are also observed in the parent compo…
By using high-quality single crystals, we quantitatively compare the transport properties between LiFeAs and LiFeP superconductors with compensated electron and hole carriers. The low-temperature resistivity follows the Fermi-liquid $AT^2$ dependence with a factor of $\sim 3$ difference in the coefficient $A$. This highlights weaker electron correlations in LiFeP, which is consistent with its $\sim 70$ times lower upper critical field than that of LiFeAs. Our analysis of the magneto-transport data indicates that in LiFeP the electron carriers with lighter masses exhibit stronger temperature de…
Conductivity noise in dc current biased La_{0.82}Ca_{0.18}MnO_{3} single crystals has been investigated in different metastable resistivity states enforced by applying voltage pulses to the sample at low temperatures. Noise measured in all investigated resistivity states is of 1/f-type and its intensity at high temperatures and low dc bias scales as a square of the bias. At liquid nitrogen temperatures for under bias exceeding a threshold value, the behavior of the noise deviates from above quasi- equilibrium modulation noise and depends in a non monotonic way on applied bias. The bias range o…
Substitution of Re for Ru in the heavy fermion compound URu2Si2 suppresses the hidden order transition and gives rise to ferromagnetism at higher concentrations. The hidden order transition of URu(2-x)Re(x)Si2, tracked via specific heat and electrical resistivity measurements, decreases in temperature and broadens, and is no longer observed for x>0.1. A critical scaling analysis of the bulk magnetization indicates that the ferromagnetic ordering temperature and ordered moment are suppressed continuously towards zero at a critical concentration of x = 0.15, accompanied by the additional suppres…
Resistivity measurements have been performed on a low (LR)- and high (HR)-resistance variant of the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)_2]Br superconductor. While the HR sample was synthesized following the standard procedure, the LR crystal is a result of a somewhat modified synthesis route. According to their residual resistivities and residual resistivity ratios, the LR crystal is of distinctly superior quality. He-gas pressure was used to study the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the different transport regimes for both variants. The main results of these comparative investigations are (i) a sign…
Resistivity and specific heat measurements were performed in the low carrier unconventional superconductor URu2Si2 on various samples with very different qualities. The superconducting transition temperature (TSC) and the hidden order transition temperature (THO) of these crystals were evaluated as a function of the residual resistivity ratio (RRR). In high quality single crystals the resistivity does not seem to follow a T2 dependence above TSC, indicating that the Fermi liquid regime is restricted to low temperatures. However, an analysis of the isothermal longitudinal magnetoresistivity poi…
Simultaneous neutron-scattering and thermal expansion measurements on the heavy-fermion superconductor URu2Si2 under hydrostatic pressure of 0.67 GPa have been performed in order to detect the successive paramagnetic, hidden order, and large moment antiferromagnetic phases on cooling. The temperature dependence of the sharp low energy excitation at the wavevector Q_0=(100) shows that this excitation is clearly a signature of the hidden order state. In the antiferromagnetic phase, this collective mode disappears. The higher energy excitation at the incommensurate wavevector Q_1=(1.4,0,0) persis…
We present systematic theoretical results on thermoelectric effects in semimetals based on the variational method of the linearized Boltzmann equation. Inelastic electron-hole scattering is known to play an important role in the unusual transport of semimetals, including the broad $T^2$ temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity and the strong violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law. By treating the inelastic electron-hole scattering more precisely beyond the relaxation time approximation, we show that the Seebeck coefficient when compensated depends on the screening length of the Coulo…
We have experimentally found related anomalies in electrical resistivity, dc and ac magnetic susceptibility, appearing deeply within ferromagnetically ordered state in SrRuO3. Lack of Jahn-Teller distortion in this regime rules out conventional orbital order, forcing one to describe these in terms of an orbital liquid ground state coexisting with ferromagnetic spin order. We suggest that weak spin-orbit coupling in such an unusual state underpins the observed anomalies.
Electric resistivity, specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and inelastic neutron scattering experiments were performed on a single crystal of the heavy fermion compound Ce(Ni$_{0.935}$Pd$_{0.065}$)$_2$Ge$_2$ in order to study the spin fluctuations near an antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum critical point (QCP). The resistivity and the specific heat coefficient for $T \leq$ 1 K exhibit the power law behavior expected for a 3D itinerant AF QCP ($ρ(T) \sim T^{3/2}$ and $γ(T) \sim γ_0 - b T^{1/2}$). However, for 2 $\leq T \leq$ 10 K, the susceptibility and specific heat vary as $log T$ and the resi…
A variety of "strange metals" exhibit resistivity that decreases linearly with temperature as $T\rightarrow 0$, in contrast with conventional metals where resistivity decreases as $T^2$. This $T$-linear resistivity has been attributed to charge carriers scattering at a rate given by $\hbar/τ=αk_{\rm B} T$, where $α$ is a constant of order unity. This simple relationship between the scattering rate and temperature is observed across a wide variety of materials, suggesting a fundamental upper limit on scattering---the "Planckian limit"---but little is known about the underlying origins of this l…
Fermi-liquid versus non-Fermi-liquid/'strange-metal' fits to the electrical resistivity in the quantum critical magnetic regime of an unconventional superconductor
Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University（东北大学材料研究所）；Institute for Quantum Materials and Technologies, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology（卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院量子材料与技术研究所）；Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG, PHELIQS（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学，法国原子能和替代能源委员会，格勒诺布尔国立理工学院，IRIG，PHELIQS）
We studied the uniaxial-pressure dependence of the resistivity for URu$_{2-x}$Fe$_x$Si$_2$ samples with $x$ = 0 and 0.2, which host a hidden order (HO) and a large-moment antiferromagnetic (LMAFM) phase, respectively. For both samples, the elastoresistivity $ζ$ shows a seemingly divergent behavior above the transition temperature $T_0$ and a quick decrease below it. We found that the temperature dependence of $ζ$ for both samples can be well described by assuming the uniaxial pressure effect on the gap or certain energy scale except for $ζ_{(110)}$ of the $x$ = 0 sample, which exhibits a non-z…
Motivated by recent reports of a field-induced intermediate phase (IP) in the antiferromagnetic honeycomb Kitaev model that may be a spin liquid whose nature is distinct from the Kitaev Z2 phase, we present a detailed numerical study on the nature and dynamical response (such as dynamical spin-structure factors and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering intensities) of this field-induced IP and neighboring phases in a family of Kitaev-based models related by hidden symmetries and duality transformations. We further show that the same field-induced IP can appear in models relevant for $α$-RuCl${_3…
We carried out simultaneous measurements of electrical resistivity and thermal expansion of the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2 under pressure using a single crystal. We observed a phase transition anomaly between hidden (HO) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordered states at TM in the temperature dependence of both measurements. For the electrical resistivity, the anomaly at TM was very small compared with the distinct hump anomaly at the phase transition temperature T0 between the paramagnetic state (PM) and HO, and exhibited only a slight increase and decrease for the I // a-axis and c-axis, resp…
We summarize existing optical data of URu$_2$Si$_2$ to clarify the nature of the hidden order transition in this heavy fermion metal. Hybridization develops between 50 K and 17.5 K, and a coherent Drude peak emerges which mirrors the changes in the dc resistivity. The Drude weight indicates that there is little change in the effective mass of these carriers in this temperature range. In addition, there is a flat background conductivity that develops a partial hybridization gap at 10 meV as the temperature is lowered, shifting spectral weight to higher frequencies above 300 meV. Below 30 K the …
We use low energy optical spectroscopy and first principles LDA+DMFT calculations to test the hypothesis that the anomalous transport properties of strongly correlated metals originate in the strong temperature dependence of their underlying resilient quasiparticles. We express the resistivity in terms of an effective plasma frequency $ω_p^*$ and an effective scattering rate $ 1/τ^*_{tr}$. We show that in the archetypal correlated material V2O3, $ω_p^*$ increases with increasing temperature, while the plasma frequency from partial sum rule exhibits the opposite trend . $ 1/τ^*_{tr}$ has a more…
The heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2 exhibits a hidden-order phase below the temperature, ~ 17.5 K. In spite of intense research for past three decades, no consensus on the order parameter exists and the nature has posed a long-standing mystery. Here we report the discovery of a Griffiths phase within the hidden-order phase, characterized by residual short-range correlations on the collapse of long-range orders due to the dilution effects. In the Griffiths phase scenario, strong evidence are provided for those cluster-like spins, such as the unique power-law behavior of magnetic susceptibility a…
The detailed derivation of a theory for transport in quasi-two-dimensional metals, with small-angle elastic scattering and angle-independent inelastic scattering is presented. The transport equation is solved for a model Fermi surface representing a typical cuprate superconductor. Using the small-angle elastic and the inelastic scattering rates deduced from angle-resolved photoemission experiments, good quantitative agreement with the observed anomalous temperature dependence of the Hall angle in optimally doped cuprates is obtained, while the resistivity remains linear in temperature. The the…
The low temperature electronic and galvanomagnetic transport properties of the low dimensional oxide KRu_4O_8 are experimentally considered. A quadratic temperature variation of the resistivity is observed to be proportional to the residual resistivity. It shows the role of inelastic electron scattering against impurities, i.e. a large Koshino-Taylor effect, rather than a consequence of strong electronic correlations. In the same temperature range, the Kohler rule is not fulfilled. The resistance noise increases also sharply, possibly due to a strong coupling of carriers with lattice fluctuati…
A fundamental question of high-temperature superconductors is the nature of the pseudogap phase which lies between the Mott insulator at zero doping and the Fermi liquid at high doping p. Here we report on the behaviour of charge carriers near the zero-temperature onset of that phase, namely at the critical doping p* where the pseudogap temperature T* goes to zero, accessed by investigating a material in which superconductivity can be fully suppressed by a steady magnetic field. Just below p*, the normal-state resistivity and Hall coefficient of La1.6-xNd0.4SrxCuO4 are found to rise simultaneo…
The heavy fermion metal CeB6 exhibits hidden order of antiferroquadrupolar (AFQ) type below T_Q=3.2K and subsequent antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at T_N=2.3K. It was interpreted as ordering of the quadrupole and dipole moments of a $Γ_8$ quartet of localised Ce $4f^1$ electrons. This established picture has been profoundly shaken by recent inelastic neutron scattering (G. Friemel et al., arXiv:1111.4151) that found the evolution of a feedback spin exciton resonance within the hidden order phase at the AFQ wave vector which is stabilized by the AFM order. We develop an alternative theory based …
We have performed magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, resistivity, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a single crystal of the heavy Fermion compound Ce(Ni$_{0.935}$Pd$_{0.065}$)$_2$Ge$_2$, which is believed to be close to a quantum critical point (QCP) at T = 0. At lowest temperature(1.8-3.5 K), the magnetic susceptibility behaves as $χ(T)-χ(0)$ $\propto$ $T^{-1/6}$ with $χ(0) = 0.032 \times 10^{-6}$ m$^3$/mole (0.0025 emu/mole). For $T<$ 1 K, the specific heat can be fit to the formula $ΔC/T = γ_0 - T^{1/2}$ with $γ_0$ of order 700 mJ/mole-K$^2$. The resistivity behaves as $…
In the present paper II, we will gain an understanding of the nematicity, insulating ground state (IGS), nematicity to stripe phase transition, Fermi pockets evolution, and resistivity temperature upturn, as to be metal - insulator (fermion-boson)- crossover (MIC) phenomena for the pseudogap (PG) region of cuprates. While in the paper I [1], we obtained an understanding of the observed heat conductivity downturn, anomalous Lorentz ratio, insulator resistivity boundary, nonlinear entropy as manifestations of the same MIC. The recently observed nematicity and hidden magnetic order are related to…
As a simple cubic system with only one f electron per cerium ion, CeB6 is of model character to investigate the interplay of orbital phenomena with magnetism. It is also a textbook example of a compound that exhibits magnetically hidden order -- a low-temperature magnetic phase with ordered quadrupolar moments. It is difficult to identify the symmetry of such hidden-order states in common x-ray or neutron scattering experiments, as there is no signal in zero field, however alternative techniques like neutron diffraction in external field, resonant x-ray scattering, or ultrasonic investigations…
We present a study of transport properties of the heavy fermion URu$_2$Si$_2$ in pulsed magnetic field. The large Nernst response of the hidden order state is found to be suppressed when the magnetic field exceeds 35 T. The combination of resistivity, Hall and Nernst data outlines the reconstruction of the Fermi surface in the temperature-field phase diagram. The zero-field ground state is a compensated heavy-electron semi-metal, which is destroyed by magnetic field through a cascade of field-induced transitions. Above 40 T, URu$_2$Si$_2$ appears to be a polarized heavy fermions metal with a l…
The normal state of optimally doped cuprates is dominated by the "strange metal" phase that shows a linear temperature ($T$) dependence of the resistivity persisting down to the lowest $T$. For underdoped cuprates this behavior is lost below the pseudogap temperature $T^*$, where Charge Density Waves (CDW) together with other intertwined local orders characterize the ground state. Here we show that the $T$-linear resistivity of highly strained, ultrathin and underdoped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-δ}$ films is restored when the CDW amplitude, detected by Resonant Inelastic X-ray scattering, is suppresse…
We have investigated magnetic excitations for a mixed phase of hidden order (HO) and the antiferromagnetic (AF) order in U(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 (x <= 0.03) by means of inelastic neutron scattering. The inelastic peaks observed at Q=(1,0,0) and (1,0.4,0) in the HO phase for x=0 and 0.015 at 1.4 K are found to be strongly reduced in the AF dominant compositions of x=0.02 and 0.03. Similar behavior is observed as the HO is replaced by the AF order upon cooling for x=0.02. The x-T region in which the strong reduction of inelastic peaks is observed corresponds to the AF-rich region, indicating that …
We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements in the hidden order state of URu$_{2-x}$Re$_x$Si$_2$ with $x$ = 0.10. We observe that towards the ferromagnetic quantum critical point induced by the negative chemical pressure of Re-doping, the gapped incommensurate fluctuations are robust and comparable in intensity to the parent material. As the Re doping moves the system toward the quantum critical point, the commensurate spin fluctuations related to hidden order weaken, display a shortened lifetime and slow down. Halfway to the quantum critical point, the hidden order phase survives, alb…
Strongly correlated materials are characterized by the presence of electron-electron interactions in their electronic structure. They often have remarkable properties and transitions between competing phases of very different electronic and magnetic order. This thesis focuses on strongly correlated $f$-electron compounds containing Ce, Sm, and U. These materials exhibit a so-called heavy-fermion or Kondo-lattice behavior. They can become insulating due to hybridization effects (Kondo-insulator) or develop multipolar (hidden) order. Kondo insulators have recently been discussed in the context o…
The mysterious second order quantum phase transition, commonly attributed to the `hidden-order' (HO) state, in heavy-fermion metal URu2Si2 exhibits a number of paradoxical electronic and magnetic properties which cannot be associated with any conventional order parameter. We characterize and reconcile these exotic properties of the HO state based on a spin-orbit density wave order (SODW), constructed on the basis of a realistic density-functional theory (DFT) band structure. We quantify the nature of the gapped electronic and magnetic excitation spectrum, in agreement with measurements, while …
To clarify superconductivity in EuFe2As2 hidden by antiferromagnetism of Eu2+, we investigated a Ca-substituted sample, Eu0.5Ca0.5Fe2As2, under high pressure. For ambient pressure, the sample exhibits a spin-density-wave (SDW) transition at TSDW = 191 K and antiferromagnetic order at TN = 4 K, but no evidence of superconductivity down to 2 K. The Ca-substitution certainly weakens the antiferromagnetism. With increasing pressure, TSDW shifts to lower temperature and becomes more unclear. Above 1.27 GPa, pressure-induced superconductivity with zero resistivity is observed at around Tc = 20 K. At…
Frustration in magnetic interactions can give rise to disordered ground states with subtle and beautiful properties. The spin ices Ho2Ti2O7 and Dy2Ti2O7 exemplify this phenomenon, displaying a classical spin liquid state, with fractionalized magnetic--monopole excitations. Recently there has been great interest in closely-related "quantum spin ice" materials, following the realization that anisotropic exchange interactions could convert spin ice into a massively-entangled, quantum, spin liquid, where magnetic monopoles become the charges of an emergent quantum electrodynamics. Here we show tha…
To elucidate the underlying nature of the hidden order (HO) state in heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2, we measure electrical transport properties of ultraclean crystals in a high field/low temperature regime. Unlike previous studies, the present system with much less impurity scattering resolves a distinct anomaly of the Hall resistivity at H*=22.5 T well below the destruction field of the HO phase ~36 T. In addition, a novel quantum oscillation appears above a magnetic field slightly below H*. These results indicate an abrupt reconstruction of the Fermi surface, which implies a possible phase t…
Strange metal behavior appears across a variety of condensed matter settings and beyond, and achieving a universal understanding is an exciting prospect. The beyond-Landau quantum criticality of Kondo destruction has had considerable success in describing the behavior of strange metal heavy fermion compounds, and there is some evidence that the associated partial localization-delocalization nature can be generalized to diverse materials classes. Other potential overarching principles at play are also being explored. An intriguing proposal is that Planckian scattering, with a rate of $k_{\rm B}…
We report low-energy inelastic neutron scattering data of the paramagnetic (PM) to hidden-order (HO) phase transition at $T_0=17.5\,{\rm K}$ in URu$_2$Si$_2$. While confirming previous results for the HO and PM phases, our data reveal a pronounced wavevector dependence of low-energy excitations across the phase transition. To analyze the energy scans we employ a damped harmonic oscillator model containing a fit parameter $1/Γ$ which is expected to diverge at a second-order phase transition. Counter to expectations the excitations at $\vec{Q}_1=(1.44,0,0)$ show an abrupt step-like suppression o…
The Hall effect and resistivity of the carrier doped magnetic semiconductor Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$S$_2$ were measured for $0\le x \le 0.16$, temperatures between 0.05 and 300 K, and fields of up to 9 T. Our Hall data indicate electron charge carriers with a density of only 10 to 30% of the Co density of our crystals. Despite the previous identification of magnetic Griffiths phase formation in the magnetic and thermodynamic properties of this system for the same range of $x$, we measure a temperature independent resistivity below 0.5 K indicating Fermi liquid-like transport. We also observe no indica…
