Academic literature on the topic 'Heavy fermion metals; Quantum spin chains'

In this paper, we propose a holographic theory to explain a number of anomalous critical phenomena observed in certain heavy fermion metals, e.g. CeCu 5.9 Au 0.1 and YbRh 2( Si 0.95 Ge 0.05)2, which are incompatible with any conventional spin-density-wave quantum critical point theory. We show that the non-Gaussian nature of the fixed point from holography plays an essential role in the physics of these materials near a quantum critical point, which is not in the same universality class of the spin-density-wave type fixed point. The critical spin fluctuations at the non-Gaussian fixed point are strongly anisotropic, localized in spatial directions and critical in temporal direction with critical exponent 2/3 in frequency over temperature dependence at low temperature. The local critical exponent tends to unity which leads to a constant spin relaxation rate in the quantum critical regime at high temperature. The stability of the fixed point is also discussed.

The electronic properties of heavy fermion alloys are dominated by spin fluctuations which are expected to become critical when tuned by pressure to a quantum critical point (QCP), entering a magnetic ordered state. Apart from the onset of exotic superconductivity, unexpected "normal conducting" behavior is found close to the QCP, which does not seem only to escape the conventional view of metals (Fermi liquids) but also the "conventional view" of an antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition in these f-metals. So far only few compounds have been investigated by neutron scattering to directly reveal the critical fluctuations spectrum. In CeCu 59 Au 01 the fluctuations develop an unusual energy dependence, characterized by an exponent α = 0.75, which persist over the entire Brillouin zone, provoking an unexpected local non Fermi liquid behavior. The same unusual exponent derived from E/T scaling determines the H/T scaling of the uniform magnetization. Recent neutron scattering data in magnetic fields further confirm this picture of nearly free local magnetic moments (modified by α) emerging at the antiferromagnetic QCP in this strongly correlated electron system.

Insulating states can be topologically nontrivial, a well-established notion that is exemplified by the quantum Hall effect and topological insulators. By contrast, topological metals have not been experimentally evidenced until recently. In systems with strong correlations, they have yet to be identified. Heavy-fermion semimetals are a prototype of strongly correlated systems and, given their strong spin-orbit coupling, present a natural setting to make progress. Here, we advance a Weyl–Kondo semimetal phase in a periodic Anderson model on a noncentrosymmetric lattice. The quasiparticles near the Weyl nodes develop out of the Kondo effect, as do the surface states that feature Fermi arcs. We determine the key signatures of this phase, which are realized in the heavy-fermion semimetal Ce3Bi4Pd3. Our findings provide the much-needed theoretical foundation for the experimental search of topological metals with strong correlations and open up an avenue for systematic studies of such quantum phases that naturally entangle multiple degrees of freedom.

Geometrical frustration describes situations where interactions are incompatible with the lattice geometry and stabilizes exotic phases such as spin liquids. Whether geometrical frustration of magnetic interactions in metals can induce unconventional quantum critical points is an active area of research. We focus on the hexagonal heavy fermion metal CeRhSn, where the Kondo ions are located on distorted kagome planes stacked along the c axis. Low-temperature specific heat, thermal expansion, and magnetic Grüneisen parameter measurements prove a zero-field quantum critical point. The linear thermal expansion, which measures the initial uniaxial pressure derivative of the entropy, displays a striking anisotropy. Critical and noncritical behaviors along and perpendicular to the kagome planes, respectively, prove that quantum criticality is driven be geometrical frustration. We also discovered a spin flop–type metamagnetic crossover. This excludes an itinerant scenario and suggests that quantum criticality is related to local moments in a spin liquid–like state.

In our review, we focus on the quantum spin liquid (QSL), defining the thermodynamic, transport, and relaxation properties of geometrically frustrated magnet (insulators) represented by herbertsmithite ZnCu 3 ( OH ) 6 Cl 2 . The review mostly deals with an historical perspective of our theoretical contributions on this subject, based on the theory of fermion condensation closely related to the emergence (due to geometrical frustration) of dispersionless parts in the fermionic quasiparticle spectrum, so-called flat bands. QSL is a quantum state of matter having neither magnetic order nor gapped excitations even at zero temperature. QSL along with heavy fermion metals can form a new state of matter induced by the topological fermion condensation quantum phase transition. The observation of QSL in actual materials such as herbertsmithite is of fundamental significance both theoretically and technologically, as it could open a path to the creation of topologically protected states for quantum information processing and quantum computation. It is therefore of great importance to establish the presence of a gapless QSL state in one of the most prospective materials, herbertsmithite. In this respect, the interpretation of current theoretical and experimental studies of herbertsmithite are controversial in their implications. Based on published experimental data augmented by our theoretical analysis, we present evidence for the the existence of a QSL in the geometrically frustrated insulator herbertsmithite ZnCu 3 ( OH ) 6 Cl 2 , providing a strategy for unambiguous identification of such a state in other materials. To clarify the nature of QSL in herbertsmithite, we recommend measurements of heat transport, low-energy inelastic neutron scattering, and optical conductivity σ ¯ in ZnCu 3 ( OH ) 6 Cl 2 crystals subject to an external magnetic field at low temperatures. Our analysis of the behavior of σ ¯ in herbertsmithite justifies this set of measurements, which can provide a conclusive experimental demonstration of the nature of its spinon-composed quantum spin liquid. Theoretical study of the optical conductivity of herbertsmithite allows us to expose the physical mechanisms responsible for its temperature and magnetic field dependence. We also suggest that artificially or spontaneously introducing inhomogeneity at nanoscale into ZnCu 3 ( OH ) 6 Cl 2 can both stabilize its QSL and simplify its chemical preparation, and can provide for tests that elucidate the role of impurities. We make predictions of the results of specified measurements related to the dynamical, thermodynamic, and transport properties in the case of a gapless QSL.