We consider the simplest variant of a Kondo insulator where a doublet of localized $f$-electrons hybridizes with spin-degenerate conduction electrons. We analyse the symmetries of $f$-orbitals involved in the hybridization and point out that the effective four-band model of such systems is adiabatically connected with one that possesses chiral symmetry, which provides further descriptions of clean Kondo insulators. We obtain general conditions for the appearance of topological non-trivial states and discuss implications for rare-earth based compounds. As an example, we derive the full phase diagram of tetragonal Kondo insulators. We show that the chiral symmetry leads to a non-trivial topological phase when the band-width of conduction electrons sets the largest energy scale, and a new weak topological phase appears as function of the normalized distance between bands' centers.
In this paper, we study a set-up in which quantum dot is tunnel-coupled to Majorana-Kramers pair(MKP) which are the edge modes of time reversal invariant topological superconductor (TRITOPS), which is an experimental realization of time reversal invariant Kitaev chain model. Our motivation is to study the effect of Majorana-Kramers pair on Kondo fixed point and conversely the effect of Kondo interaction on Majorana-Kramers pair. This way we can capture the signatures of Majorana fermions on Kondo effect in quantum dots which can be probed feasibly in experiments. Employing the renormalization …
We discuss possible competition between magnetic and quadrupole Kondo effects in non-Kramers doublet systems under cubic symmetry. The quadrupole Kondo effect leads to non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) ground state, while the magnetic one favors ordinary Fermi liquid (FL). In terms of the $j$-$j$ coupling scheme, we emphasize that the orbital fluctuation must develop in the vicinity of the NFL-FL boundary. We demonstrate a change of behavior in the f-electron entropy by the Wilson's numerical renormalization-group (NRG) method on the basis of the extended two-channel Kondo exchange model. We present impl…
In non-Kramers Kondo systems with a quadrupolar degrees of freedom, an ordinary magnetic Kondo effect can compete with the quadrupolar Kondo effect. We discuss such competition keeping Pr$T_{2}$Zn$_{20}$ ($T$=Ir, Rh) and Pr$T_{2}$Al$_{20}$ ($T$=V, Ti) in mind, where the $Γ_{3}$ non-Kramers crystalline-electric-field (CEF) doublet ground state is realized in Pr$^{3+}$ ion with $(4f)^{2}$ configuration under cubic symmetry. The quadrupolar Kondo effect can be described by the two-channel Kondo model, which leads to the local non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) ground state, while the magnetic Kondo effect fa…
Acoustic signatures of the single-site quadrupolar Kondo effect in Y$_{0.966}$Pr$_{0.034}$Ir$_2$Zn$_{20}$ are presented. The elastic constant ($C_{11}-C_{12}$)/2, corresponding to the $Γ_3$(E)-symmetry electric-quadrupolar response, reveals a logarithmic temperature dependence of the quadrupolar susceptibility in the low-magnetic-field region below $\sim$0.3 K. Furthermore, the Curie-type divergence of the elastic constant down to $\sim$1 K indicates that the Pr ions in this diluted system have a non-Kramers ground-state doublet. These observations evidence the single-site quadrupolar Kondo ef…
We performed ultrasonic measurement on the rare-earth intermetallic compound PrInAg_2 to examine the quadrupolar Kondo effect associated with the non-Kramers Gamma_3 doublet ground state. The characteristic softening of the elastic constant (c_{11}-c_{12})/2 below 10 K in PrInAg_2 is attributed to a Curie term in quadrupolar susceptibility for the quadrupole O_2^2=J_x^2-J_y^2 of the stable Gamma_3 ground state. (c_{11}-c_{12})/2 turns to a slight increase with the -lnT dependence below 0.1 K, which suggests the quenching of the quadrupolar moment in the quadrupolar Kondo state. Under applied m…
Ferromagnetic contacts put in proximity with carbon nanotubes induce spin and orbital polarizations. These polarizations affect dramatically the Kondo correlations occurring in quantum dots formed in a carbon nanotube, inducing effective fields in both spin and orbital sectors. As a consequence, the carbon nanotube quantum dot spectral density shows a four-fold split SU(4) Kondo resonance. Furthermore, the presence of spin-orbit interactions leads to the occurrence of an additional polarization among time-reversal electronic states (polarization in the time-reversal symmetry or Kramers sector)…
We formulate and study an effective Hamiltonian for low-energy Kramers doublets of $d^1$-ions on a square lattice. We find that the system exhibits a magnetically hidden order in which the expectation values of the local spin and orbital moments both vanish. The order parameter responsible for a time-reversal symmetry breaking has a composite nature and is a spin-orbital analog of a magnetic octupole. We argue that such a hidden order is realized in the layered perovskite Sr$_2$VO$_4$.
We study stability of multiple conducting edge states in a topological insulator against all multi-particle perturbations allowed by the time-reversal symmetry. We model a system as a multi-channel Luttinger liquid, where the number of channels equals the number of Kramers doublets at the edge. We show that in the clean system with N Kramers doublets there always exist relevant perturbations (either of superconducting or charge density wave character) which always open (N-1) gaps. In the charge density wave regime, (N-1) edge states get localised. The single remaining gapless mode describes sl…
This paper clarifies the microscopic nature of the staggered scalar order, which is specific to even number of f electrons per site. In such systems, crystalline electric field (CEF) can make a singlet ground state. As exchange interaction with conduction electrons increases, the CEF singlet at each site gives way to Kondo singlets. The collective Kondo singlets are identified with itinerant states that form energy bands. Near the boundary of itinerant and localized states, a new type of electronic order appears with staggered Kondo and CEF singlets. We present a phenomenological three-state m…
We report magnetic properties of a 4f-honeycomb iodide SmI3 made up of edge-shared network of SmI6 octahedra. High temperature magnetic susceptibility indicates Γ7 Kramers doublet ground state of Sm3+ (4f5) ions stabilized by the spin-orbit coupling and octahedral crystal electric field, which interact with Sm-I-Sm bond angle nearly 90 degree. Magnetization measurements down to 0.1 K detected antiferromagnetic correlations and an anomaly in the magnetization curve before saturation without a sign of long-range order. Relevance between SmI3 and the antiferromagnetic Kitaev material proposed in …
We study the multipole interactions between $f^2$ ions with the $Γ_3$ non-Kramers doublet ground state under a cubic crystalline electric field. We construct the $Γ_3$ doublet state of the electrons with the total angular momentum $j=5/2$. By applying the second-order perturbation theory with respect to the intersite hopping, we derive the multipole interactions. We obtain a quadrupole interaction for a simple cubic lattice, an octupole interaction for a bcc lattice, and both quadrupole and octupole interactions for an fcc lattice. We also discuss general tendencies of the multipole interactio…
Goldstone modes emerge associated with spontaneous breakdown of the continuous symmetry in the two-channel Kondo lattice, which describes strongly correlated f-electron systems with a non-Kramers doublet at each site. This paper derives the spectra of these collective modes by the equation of motion method together with the random phase approximation. The diagonal composite order breaks the SU(2) channel symmetry, and the symmetry-restoring collective mode couples with magnetic field. On the other hand, the off-diagonal or superconducting composite order breaks the gauge symmetry of conduction…
Cubic Pr-based compounds with $Γ_3$ non-Kramers doublet ground states can realize a novel heavy Fermi liquid with spinorial hybridization ('hastatic' order) that breaks time reversal symmetry. Several Pr-"1-2-20" materials exhibit a suggestive heavy Fermi liquid stabilized in intermediate magnetic fields; these provide key insight into the quadrupolar Kondo lattice. We develop a simple, yet realistic microscopic model of ferrohastatic order, and elaborate its experimental signatures and behavior in field, where it is a good candidate to explain the observed heavy Fermi liquids at intermediate …
We investigate antiferro quadrupole orders in systems with non-Kramers doublet ground state with total angular momentum J=4 in T_d point group symmetry. We demonstrate that a pure O_2^2 antiferro quadrupole order is impossible in general crystalline-electric field potential and should be accompanied by ferro O_2^0 quadrupole moment. The temperature and magnetic-field phase diagram is obtained by mean-field approximation of intersite quadrupole interactions and the excitation spectrum is analyzed by "spin"-wave approximations. Gapless excitations emerge at the boader of antiferro O_2^2 quadrupo…
We report comprehensive Raman-scattering measurements on a single crystal of double-perovskite Nd2ZnIrO6 in temperature range of 4-330 K, and spanning a broad spectral range from 20 cm-1 to 5500 cm-1. The paper focuses on lattice vibrations and electronic transitions involving Kramers doublets of the rare-earth Nd3+ ion with local C1 site symmetry. Temperature evolution of these quasi-particle excitations have allowed us to ascertain the intricate coupling between lattice and electronic degrees of freedom in Nd2ZnIrO6. Strong coupling between phonons and crystal-field excitation is observed vi…
Notable non-Fermi liquid and quantum critical behaviors are observed in rare-earth metallic systems with non-Kramers local moments supporting a number of different multipolar moments. A prominent example is $\text{Pr(Ti,V)}_{2}\text{Al}_{20}$, where the non-Kramers doublet of the $\text{Pr}^{3+}$ ion allows quadrupolar and octupolar moments, but lacks a dipolar moment. Previous theoretical studies show that a single impurity Kondo problem with such an unusual local moment leads to novel non-Fermi liquid states. In this work, we investigate possible quantum critical behaviors arising from the c…
Adding a second Kondo channel to heavy fermion materials reveals new exotic symmetry breaking phases associated with the development of Kondo coherence. In this paper, we review two such phases, the "hastatic order" associated with non-Kramers doublet ground states, where the two-channel nature of the Kondo coupling is guaranteed by virtual valence fluctuations to an excited Kramers doublet, and "composite pair superconductivity," where the two channels differ by charge 2e and can be thought of as virtual valence fluctuations to a pseudo-isospin doublet. The similarities and differences betwee…
We reobtain the Kondo-Doublet interaction by means of the Brillouin-Wigner Perturbation theory. By applying the same method to the single impurity case we show that the Kondo-Doublet interaction is a direct consequence of the Kondo screening cloud. We fully confirm our previous results on this novel interaction. In particular, we found that for values of the system parameters typical of semiconductor Quantum Dots heterostructures, the ferromagnetic Kondo-Doublet interaction dominates over the RKKY one.
In this study, ultrasonic measurements were performed on a single crystal of cubic PrNi$_2$Cd$_{20}$, down to a temperature of 0.02 K, to investigate the crystalline electric field ground state and search for possible phase transitions at low temperatures. The elastic constant $(C_{11}-C_{12})/2$, which is related to the $Γ_3$-symmetry quadrupolar response, exhibits the Curie-type softening at temperatures below $\sim$30 K, which indicates that the present system has a $Γ_3$ non-Kramers doublet ground state. A leveling-off of the elastic response appears below $\sim$0.1 K toward the lowest tem…
Materials with non-Kramers doublet ground states naturally manifest the two-channel Kondo effect, as the valence fluctuations are from a non-Kramers doublet ground state to an excited Kramers doublet. Here, the development of a heavy Fermi liquid requires a channel symmetry breaking spinorial hybridization that breaks both single and double time-reversal symmetry, and is known as hastatic order. Motivated by cubic Pr-based materials with $Γ_3$ non-Kramers ground state doublets, this paper provides a survey of cubic hastatic order using the simple two-channel Kondo-Heisenberg model. Hastatic or…
Three dimensional topological superconductors with time reversal symmetry (class DIII) are indexed by an integer $ν$, the number of surface Majorana cones, according to the free fermion classification. The superfluid B phase of He$^3$ realizes the $ν=1$ phase. Recently, it has been argued that this classification is reduced in the presence of interactions to Z$_{16}$. This was argued from the symmetry respecting surface topological orders of these states, which provide a non-perturbative definition of the bulk topological phase. Here, we verify this conclusion by focusing on the even index cas…
Praseodymium-based 1-2-20 cage compounds Pr$T_2X_{20}$ ($T$ is generally Ti, V, Nb, Ru, Rh, Ir; and $X$ is either Al, Zn or Cd) provide yet another platform to study non-trivial electronic states of matter ranging from topological and magnetic orders to unconventional multipolar orders and superconductivity. In this paper, we report measurements of the electronic heat capacity in two Pr-based 1-2-20 materials: PrNi$_2$Cd$_{20}$ and PrPd$_2$Cd$_{20}$. We find that the lowest energy multiplet of the Pr $4f^2$ valence configuration is a $Γ_3$ non-Kramers doublet and the first excited triplet is a…
We analyze the interactions between two Kondo Quantum Dots connected to a Rashba-active Quantum Wire. We find that the Kondo-doublet interaction, at an inter-dot distance of the order of the wire Fermi length, is over an order of magnitude greater than the RKKY interaction. The effects induced on the Kondo-doublet interaction by the wire spin-orbit coupling can be used to control the Quantum Dots spin-spin correlation. These results imply that the widely used assumption that the RKKY is the dominant interaction between Anderson impurities must be revised.
We analyze two pairs of doublet states for the two Anderson impurity problem. We found that for short interimpurity distances they have a lower energy than the ferro triplet and the antiferro singlet. For medium to long distances between the impurities, the doublets also have a lower energy than the two decoupled Kondo-singlet state for most of the range of interest. The mechanism behind their energy gain is an coherence enhanced Kondo-like interaction.
We analyze the effects of high energy configurations on the Kondo-doublet interaction between two Anderson impurities. We found that the Kondo doublet states are robust and that their coherence energy is incremented by the inclusion of high energy configurations. Analytic expressions are obtained for the corrections near the Kondo limit. Analysis of the system in the intermediate valence regime shows that the behavior of the system can be changed from ferromagnetic to sligthy antiferromagnetic by tuning the system parameters; this regime can also be used to study the interplay between hole-dri…
Localized magnetic moments with crystal-field doublet or pseudo-spin 1/2 may arise in correlated insulators with even number of electrons and strong spin-orbit coupling. Such a non-Kramers pseudo-spin 1/2 is the consequence of crystalline symmetries as opposed to the Kramers doublet arising from time-reversal invariance, and is necessarily a composite of spin and orbital degrees of freedom. We investigate possible spin-orbital liquids with fermionic spinons for such non-Kramers pseudo-spin 1/2 systems on the Kagome lattice. Using the projective symmetry group analysis, we find {\it ten} new ph…
We have investigated the low temperature quadrupolar phenomena of the non-Kramers system PrRh2Zn20 under magnetic fields in the [100] and [110] directions. Our experiments reveal the B-T phase diagram of PrRh2Zn20 involving four electronic states regardless of the field direction, namely, a non-Fermi liquid (NFL) state, an antiferro-quadrupolar (AFQ) ordered state, a novel heavy-fermion (HF) state, and a field-induced singlet (FIS) state. In the wide range of the NFL state, the resistivity can be well scaled by a characteristic temperature, suggesting the realization of the quadrupole Kondo ef…
CeRhSi$_{3}$ is a superconductor under pressure coexisting with a weakly antiferromagnetic phase characterized by a Bragg peak at $\vec{q}_{0}$=($\sim$ 0.2, 0, 0.5) (N. Aso et al. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 310, 602 (2007)). The compound is also a heavy fermion material with a large specific heat coefficient $γ$=110 mJ $\cdot$ mol$^{-1}$ $\cdot$ K$^{-2}$ and a high Kondo temperature of $T_{K}$=50 K indicative that CeRhSi$_{3}$ is in a strongly Kondo screened state. We apply high resolution neutron spectroscopy to investigate the magnetic fluctuations in the normal phase, at ambient pressures, and a…
Motivated by the rapid experimental progress on the spin-orbit-coupled Mott insulators, we propose and study a generic spin model that describes the interaction between the non-Kramers doublets on a triangular lattice and is relevant for triangular lattice rare-earth magnets. We predict that the system supports both pure quadrupolar orders and intertwined multipolar orders in the phase diagram. Besides the multipolar orders, we explore the magnetic excitations to reveal the dynamic properties of the systems. Due to the peculiar properties of the non-Kramers doublets and the selective coupling …
We investigate the emergence of quantum critical points near a two-channel Kondo phase by evaluating an $f$-electron entropy of a seven-orbital impurity Anderson model hybridized with three ($Γ_7$ and $Γ_8$) conduction bands with the use of a numerical renormalization group method First we consider the case of Pr$^{3+}$ ion, in which quadrupole two-channel Kondo effect is known to occur for the local $Γ_3$ doublet state. When we control crystalline electric field (CEF) potentials so as to change the local CEF ground state from $Γ_3$ doublet to $Γ_1$ singlet or $Γ_5$ triplet, we commonly observ…
Strongly Quenched Kramers Doublet Magnetism in SmMgAl11O19
Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics（查理大学数学物理学院）；Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy（亚当·密茨凯维奇大学物理与天文学学院）；Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院物理研究所）
Our single crystal study reveals that PrTr2Al20 (Tr = Ti and V) provides the first examples of a cubic Γ3 nonmagnetic ground doublet system that shows the Kondo effect including a -ln T dependent resistivity. The Γ3 quadrupolar moments in PrV2Al20 induce anomalous metallic behavior through hybridization with conduction electrons, such as T^{1/2} dependent resistivity and susceptibility below ~ 20 K down to its ordering temperature T_O = 0.6 K. In PrTi2Al20, however, quadrupoles are well-localized and exhibit an order at T_O = 2.0 K. Stronger Kondo coupling in PrV2Al20 than in PrTi2Al20 suppres…
The exact diagonalization and the variational cluster approximation (VCA) are used to study the nature of a novel Mott insulator induced by a strong spin-orbit coupling for a two-dimensional three-band Hubbard model consisting of the $t_{2g}$ manifold of $5d$ orbitals. To characterize the ground state, we introduce a local Kramer's doublet which can represent a state with effective angular momentum $J_{\rm eff}=|{\bm S}-{\bm L}|=1/2$ as well as spin $S=1/2$. Our systematic study of the pseudo-spin structure factor defined by the Kramer's doublet shows that the $J_{\rm eff}=1/2$ Mott insulator …
We analyze the two Anderson impurity problem, in the strong Coulomb repulsion limit, by means of variational wave functions whose equations we solve analytically. We found two pairs of Doublet states, one odd and one even with respect to the midplane between the impurities. These Doublets make a significatively strong use of the hybridization terms of the Hamiltonian, and have a much larger Kondo-like correlation energy than a single impurity (the Kondo energy). Furthermore, these Doublets combine to form a Super-Singlet. This Super-Singlet makes use of the remaining hybridization probability …
A criterion for effective irrelevancy of the spin-orbit coupling in the heavy-fermion superconductivity is discussed on the basis of the impurity Anderson model with two sets of Kramers doublets. Using Wilson's numerical renormalization-group method, we demonstrate a formation of the quasiparticle as well as the renormalization of the rotational symmetry-breaking interaction in the lower Kramers doublet (quasispin) space. A comparison with the quasispin conserving interaction exhibits the effective irrelevancy of the symmetry-breaking interaction for the splitting of two doublets Delta larger …
Motivated by experiments in nanoscopic systems, we study a generalized Anderson, which consists of two spin degenerate doublets hybridized to a singlet by promotion of an electron to two conduction bands, as a function of the energy separation $δ$ between both doublets. For $δ$=0 or very large, the model is equivalent to a one-level SU(N) Anderson model, with N=4 and 2 respectively. We study the evolution of the spectral density for both doublets ($ρ_{1 σ}(ω)$ and $ρ_{2 σ}(ω)$) and their width in the Kondo limit as $δ$ is varied, using the non-crossing approximation (NCA). As $δ$ increases, th…
We study the low energy spectrum of a correlated quantum dot embedded between the normal conducting and superconducting reservoirs and hybridized with the topological superconducting nanowire, hosting the Majorana end-modes. We investigate the leaking Majorana quasiparticle and inspect its interplay with the proximity induced on-dot pairing and correlations. In particular, we focus on the subgap Kondo effect near the quantum phase transition/crossover from the spinfull (doublet) to the spinless (BCS-type singlet) configurations. Treating the correlations perturbatively and within the NRG appro…
We calculate the finite temperature and non-equilibrium electric current through systems described generically at low energy by a singlet and \emph{two} spin doublets for $N$ and $N \pm 1$ electrons respectively, coupled asymmetrically to two conducting leads, which allows for destructive interference in the conductance. The model is suitable for studying transport in a great variety of systems such us aromatic molecules, different geometries of quantum dots and rings with applied magnetic flux. As a consequence of the interplay between interference and Kondo effect, we find changes by several…
Peculiar property of electronic order is clarified for the two-channel Kondo lattice. With two conduction electrons per site, the order parameter is a composite quantity involving both local and itinerant degrees of freedom. In contrast to the ordinary Kondo lattice, a heavy electron band is absent above the transition temperature, but is rapidly formed below it. The change of entropy associated with the ordering is found to be close to $\ln \sqrt 2$ per site. This entropy corresponds to the residual entropy in a two-channel Kondo impurity, which has been regarded as due to localized free Majo…
Ultrasonic investigations of the single-site quadrupolar Kondo effect in diluted Pr system Y$_{0.966}$Pr$_{0.034}$Ir$_2$Zn$_{20}$ are reported. The elastic constant $(C_{11}-C_{12})/2$ is measured down to ~40 mK using ultrasound for the dilute system Y$_{0.966}$Pr$_{0.034}$Ir$_2$Zn$_{20}$ and the pure compound YIr$_2$Zn$_{20}$. We found that the elastic constant $(C_{11}-C_{12})/2$ of the Pr-dilute system exhibits a logarithmic temperature dependence below $T_0$ ~0.3 K, where non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior in the specific heat and electrical resistivity is observed. This logarithmic temperatu…
Among heavy fermion materials, there is a set of rare-earth intermetallics with non-Kramers Pr$^{3+}$ $4f^2$ moments which exhibit a rich phase diagram with intertwined quadrupolar orders, superconductivity, and non-Fermi liquid behavior. However, more subtle broken symmetries such as multipolar orders in these Kondo materials remain poorly studied. Here, we argue that multi-spin interactions between local moments beyond the conventional two-spin exchange must play an important role in Kondo materials near the ordered to heavy Fermi liquid transition. We show that this drives a plethora of pha…
We analyze the consequences of a first-order (in the effective Kondo coupling) inter-impurity correlation present in the Two-Impurity Anderson Hamiltonian. This correlation generates a pair of Kondo Doublet states which are responsible for the first (higher energy) Kondo stage of these systems. Applied to systems of quantum dots in a semiconductor heterolayer, these Doublets predict a mainly ferromagnetic dot-dot spin correlation which is different than the expected from the second-order RKKY interaction. In order to effectively screen both dots, a parallel alignment of the dot-spins is favore…
We investigate the mixed-valent regime of a two-configuration Anderson impurity model for uranium ions, with separate quadrupolar and magnetic doublets. With a new Monte Carlo approach and the non-crossing approximation we find: (i) A non-Fermi-liquid fixed point with two-channel Kondo model critical behavior; (ii) Distinct energy scales for screening the low-lying and excited doublets; (iii) A semi-quantitative explanation of magnetic-susceptibility data for U$_{1-x}$Th$_x$Be$_{13}$ assuming 60-70% quadrupolar doublet ground-state weight, supporting the quadrupolar-Kondo interpretation.
Spin reorientation is an important phenomenon of rare-earth perovskites, orthoferrites and orthochromites. In this study, we consider a simple but realistic microscopic theory of the spontaneous spin-reorientation transitions induced by the 4f-3d interaction, more specifically, the interaction of the main Kramers doublet or non-Kramers quasi-doublet of the 4f ion with an effective magnetic field induced by the 3d sublattice. The obtained results indicate that the cause of both the temperature and the character of the spin-reorientation transition is a competition between the second and fourth …
We show that Ce- and Yb-based Kondo-lattice ferromagnets order mainly along the magnetically hard direction of the ground state Kramers doublet determined by crystalline electric field (CEF). Here we argue that this peculiar phenomenon, that was believed to be rare, is instead the standard case. Moreover, it seems to be independent on the Curie temperature $T_\mathrm{C}$, crystalline structure, size of the ordered moment and type of ground state wave function. On the other hand, all these systems show the Kondo coherence maximum in the temperature dependence of the resistivity just above $T_\m…
We study the quasiparticle spectrum in an underscreened Kondo-lattice (KL) model that involves a single spin degenerate conduction band and two crystalline-electric-field (CEF) split Kramers doublets coupled by both orbital-diagonal and non-diagonal exchange interactions. We find the three quasiparticle bands of the model using a constrained fermionic mean field approach. While two bands are similar to the one-orbital model a new genuinely heavy band inside the main hybridization gap appears in the quasiquartet model. Its dispersion is due to effective hybridization with conduction states but …
Current theories of Kondo insulators employ the interaction of conduction electrons with localized Kramers doublets originating from a tetragonal crystalline environment, yet all Kondo insulators are cubic. Here we develop a theory of cubic topological Kondo insulators involving the interaction of spin quartets with a conduction sea. The spin quartets greatly increase the potential for strong topological insulators, entirely eliminating the weak-topological phases from the diagram. We show that the relevant topological behavior in cubic Kondo insulators can only reside at the lower symmetry X …
Recent experiments have examined the impact of a magnetic field on ferroquadrupolar orders in the intermetallic Kondo material PrTi$_2$Al$_{20}$. Motivated by this, we use extensive Monte Carlo simulations to study a diamond lattice XY model of non-Kramers pseudospin-$1/2$ Pr$^{3+}$ moments which crucially incorporates three-spin interactions. This model supports a thermal $Z_3$ Potts ordering transition upon cooling from the paramagnetic phase into the ferroquadrupolar phase. An applied magnetic field along the [110] direction leads to a thermal Ising transition out of the quadrupolar ordered…
