Fermi surface and antiferromagnetism in the Kondo lattice: an asymptotically exact solution in d>1 Dimensions

Interest in the heavy fermion metals has motivated us to examine the quantum phases and their Fermi surfaces within the Kondo lattice model. We demonstrate that the model is soluble asymptotically exactly in any dimension d>1, when the Kondo coupling is small compared with the RKKY interaction and in the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering. We show that the Kondo coupling is exactly marginal in the renormalization group sense, establishing the stability of an ordered phase with a small Fermi surface, AFs. Our results have implications for the global phase diagram of the heavy fermion metals, suggesting a Lifshitz transition inside the antiferromagnetic region and providing a new perspective for a Kondo-destroying antiferromagnetic quantum critical point.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; (v2) corrected typos and added reference/acknowledgment; (v3) version as published in Physical Review Letters (July, 2007

Novel Quantum Criticality in CeRu2_2Si2_2 near Absolute Zero Observed by Thermal Expansion and Magnetostriction

We report linear thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements for CeRu$_2$Si$_2$ in magnetic fields up to 52.6 mT and at temperatures down to 1 mK. At high temperatures, this compound showed Landau-Fermi-liquid behavior: The linear thermal expansion coefficient and the magnetostriction coefficient were proportional to the temperature and magnetic field, respectively. In contrast, a pronounced non-Fermi-liquid effect was found below 50 mK. The negative contribution of thermal expansion and magnetostriction suggests the existence of an additional quantum critical point

Magnetic-field enhanced aniferromagnetism in non-centrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt3_3Si

The effect of magnetic field on the static and dynamic spin correlations in the non-centrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt$_3$Si was investigated by neutron scattering. The application of a magnetic field B increases the antiferromagnetic (AFM) peak intensity. This increase depends strongly on the field direction: for B${\parallel}$[0 0 1] the intensity increases by a factor of 4.6 at a field of 6.6 T, which corresponds to more than a doubling of the AFM moment, while the moment increases by only 10 % for B${\parallel}$[1 0 0] at 5 T. This is in strong contrast to the inelastic response near the antiferromagnetic ordering vector, where no marked field variations are observed for B${\parallel}$[0 0 1] up to 3.8 T. The results reveal that the AFM state in CePt$_3$Si, which coexists with superconductivity, is distinctly different from other unconventional superconductors.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Enhancing the Superconducting Transition Temperature due to Strong-Coupling Effect under Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuations in CeRh1-xIrxIn5 : 115In-NQR Study

We report on systematic evolutions of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin fluctuations and unconventional superconductivity (SC) in heavy-fermion (HF) compounds CeRh$_{1-x}$Ir$_{x}$In$_5$ via $^{115}$In nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) experiment. The measurements of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ have revealed the marked development of AFM spin fluctuations as a consequence of approaching an AFM ordered state with increasing Rh content. Concomitantly the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ and the energy gap $\Delta_0$ increase drastically from $T_{\rm c} = 0.4$ K and $2\Delta_0/k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c} = 5$ in CeIrIn$_5$ up to $T_{\rm c} = 1.2$ K and $2\Delta_0/k_{\rm B}T_{\rm c} = 8.3$ in CeRh$_{0.3}$Ir$_{0.7}$In$_5$, respectively. The present work suggests that the AFM spin fluctuations in close proximity to the AFM quantum critical point are indeed responsible for the onset of strong-coupling unconventional SC with the line node in the gap function in HF compounds.Comment: 4pages,5figures,to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Anisotropic magnetic properties of CeAg2_2Ge2_2 single crystal

In order to investigate the anisotropic magnetic properties of CeAg$_2$Ge$_2$, we have successfully grown the single crystals, for the first time, by high temperature solution growth (flux) method. We have performed a detailed study of the grown single crystals by measuring their electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat and magnetoresistance. A clear anisotropy and an antiferromagnetic transition at $T_{\rm N}$ = 4.6 K have been observed in the magnetic properties. The magnetic entropy reaches $R$ ln 4 at 20 K indicating that the ground state and the first excited state are very closely spaced (a quasi-quartet state). From the specific heat measurements and crystalline electric field (CEF) analysis of the magnetic susceptibility, we have found the level splitting energies as 5 K and 130 K. The magnetization measurements reveal that the a-axis is the easy axis of magnetization and the saturation moment is $\mu_{\rm s}$ = 1.6 $\mu_{\rm B}$/Ce, corroborating the previous neutron diffraction measurements on a polycrystalline sample.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Thermal transport in the hidden-order state of URu2_{2}Si2_{2}

We present a study of thermal conductivity in the normal state of the heavy-fermion superconductor URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$. Ordering at 18K leads to a steep increase in thermal conductivity and (in contrast with all other cases of magnetic ordering in heavy-fermion compounds) to an enhancement of the Lorenz number. By linking this observation to several other previously reported features, we conclude that most of the carriers disappear in the ordered state and this leads to a drastic increase in both phononic and electronic mean-free-path.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figure

Magnetic properties of PrCu2 at high pressure

We report a study of the low-temperature high-pressure phase diagram of the intermetallic compound PrCu2, by means of molecular-field calculations and 63,65Cu nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) measurements under pressure. The pressure-induced magnetically-ordered phase can be accounted for by considering the influence of the crystal electric field on the 4f electron orbitals of the Pr3+ ions and by introducing a pressure-dependent exchange interaction between the corresponding local magnetic moments. Our experimental data suggest that the order in the induced antiferromagnetic phase is incommensurate. The role of magnetic fluctuations both at high and low pressures is also discusse

Evidence for ferromagnetic spin-pairing superconductivity in UGe2_2: A 73^{73}Ge-NQR study under pressure

We report that a novel type of superconducting order parameter has been realized in the ferromagnetic states in UGe$_2$ via $^{73}$Ge nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) experiments performed under pressure ($P$). Measurements of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $(1/T_1)$ have revealed an unconventional nature of superconductivity such that the up-spin band is gapped with line nodes, but the down-spin band remains gapless at the Fermi level. This result is consistent with that of a ferromagnetic spin-pairing model in which Cooper pairs are formed among ferromagnetically polarized electrons. The present experiment has shed new light on a possible origin of ferromagnetic superconductivity, which is mediated by ferromagnetic spin-density fluctuations relevant to the first-order transition inside the ferromagnetic states.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure