120 research outputs found
Universal Distribution of Kondo Temperatures in Dirty Metals
Kondo screening of diluted magnetic impurities in a disordered host is
studied analytically and numerically in one, two and three dimensions. It is
shown that in the T_K \to 0 limit the distribution of Kondo temperatures has a
universal form, P(T_K) \sim T_K^{-\alpha} that holds in the insulating phase
and persists in the metallic phase close to the metal insulator transition.
Moreover, the exponent \alpha depends only on the dimensionality. The most
important consequence of this result is that the T-dependence of thermodynamic
properties is smooth across the metal-insulator transition in three dimensional
systems.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; added referenc
What is the fate of the heavy electron at a quantum critical point?
A growing body of evidence suggests that the quantum critical behavior at the
onset of magnetism in heavy fermion systems can not be understood in terms of a
simple quantum spin density wave. This talk will discuss the consequences of
this conclusion, touching on its possible implications in the realm of two
dimensional systems and outlining current theoretical and experimental efforts
to characterize the nature of the critical point in heavy fermion materials.Comment: To appear in SCES 200
Evidence for time-reversal symmetry breaking of the superconducting state near twin-boundary interfaces in FeSe
Junctions and interfaces consisting of unconventional superconductors provide
an excellent experimental playground to study exotic phenomena related to the
phase of the order parameter. Not only the complex structure of unconventional
order parameters have an impact on the Josephson effects, but also may
profoundly alter the quasi-particle excitation spectrum near a junction. Here,
by using spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy, we visualize the
spatial evolution of the local density of states (LDOS) near twin boundaries
(TBs) of the nodal superconductor FeSe. The rotation of the
crystallographic orientation across the TB twists the structure of the
unconventional order parameter, which may, in principle, bring about a
zero-energy LDOS peak at the TB. The LDOS at the TB observed in our study, in
contrast, does not exhibit any signature of a zero-energy peak and an apparent
gap amplitude remains finite all the way across the TB. The low-energy
quasiparticle excitations associated with the gap nodes are affected by the TB
over a distance more than an order of magnitude larger than the coherence
length . The modification of the low-energy states is even more
prominent in the region between two neighboring TBs separated by a distance
. In this region the spectral weight near the Fermi level
(0.2~meV) due to the nodal quasiparticle spectrum is almost
completely removed. These behaviors suggest that the TB induces a fully-gapped
state, invoking a possible twist of the order parameter structure which breaks
time-reversal symmetry.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Quantum criticality in inter-band superconductors
In fermionic systems with different types of quasi-particles, attractive
interactions can give rise to exotic superconducting states, as pair density
wave (PDW) superconductivity and breached pairing. In the last years the search
for these new types of ground states in cold atom and in metallic systems has
been intense. In the case of metals the different quasi-particles may be the up
and down spin bands in an external magnetic field or bands arising from
distinct atomic orbitals that coexist at a common Fermi surface. These systems
present a complex phase diagram as a function of the difference between the
Fermi wave-vectors of the different bands. This can be controlled by external
means, varying the density in the two-component cold atom system or, in a
metal, by applying an external magnetic field or pressure. Here we study the
zero temperature instability of the normal system as the Fermi wave-vectors
mismatch of the quasi-particles (bands) is reduced and find a second order
quantum phase transition to a PDW superconducting state. From the nature of the
quantum critical fluctuations close to the superconducting quantum critical
point (SQCP), we obtain its dynamic critical exponent. It turns out to be
and this allows to fully characterize the SQCP for dimensions .Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Superconductivity induced by spark erosion in ZrZn2
We show that the superconductivity observed recently in the weak itinerant
ferromagnet ZrZn2 [C. Pfleiderer et al., Nature (London) 412, 58 (2001)] is due
to remnants of a superconducting layer induced by spark erosion. Results of
resistivity, susceptibility, specific heat and surface analysis measurements on
high-quality ZrZn2 crystals show that cutting by spark erosion leaves a
superconducting surface layer. The resistive superconducting transition is
destroyed by chemically etching a layer of 5 microns from the sample. No
signature of superconductivity is observed in rho(T) of etched samples at the
lowest current density measured, J=675 Am-2, and at T < 45 mK. EDX analysis
shows that spark-eroded surfaces are strongly Zn depleted. The simplest
explanation of our results is that the superconductivity results from an alloy
with higher Zr content than ZrZn2.Comment: Final published versio
Magnetic field tuning of antiferromagnetic YbPt
We present measurements of the specific heat, magnetization, magnetocaloric
effect and magnetic neutron diffraction carried out on single crystals of
antiferromagnetic YbPt, where highly localized Yb moments order at
K in zero field. The antiferromagnetic order was suppressed to
by applying a field of 1.85 T in the plane.
Magnetocaloric effect measurements show that the antiferromagnetic phase
transition is always continuous for , although a pronounced step
in the magnetization is observed at the critical field in both neutron
diffraction and magnetization measurements. These steps sharpen with decreasing
temperature, but the related divergences in the magnetic susceptibility are cut
off at the lowest temperatures, where the phase line itself becomes vertical in
the field-temperature plane. As , the antiferromagnetic
transition is increasingly influenced by a quantum critical endpoint, where
ultimately vanishes in a first order phase transition.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Only Fermi-Liquids are Metals
Any singular deviation from Landau Fermi-liquid theory appears to lead, for
arbitrarily small concentration of impurities coupling to a non-conserved
quantity, to a vanishing density of states at the chemical potential and
infinite resistivity as temperature approaches zero. Applications to
copper-oxide metals including the temperature dependence of the anisotropy in
resistivity, and to other cases of non Fermi-liquids are discussed.Comment: 11 pages,revtex, 1 Postscript figur
Localized moments and the stability of antiferromagnetic order in Yb3Pt4
We present here the results of electrical resistivity {\rho}, magnetization
M, ac susceptibility \c{hi}ac', and specific heat CM measurements that have
been carried out on single crystals of Yb3Pt4 over a wide range of fields and
temperatures. The 2.4-K N\'eel temperature that is found in zero field
collapses under field to a first-order transition TN=0 at BCEP=1.85 T. In the
absence of antiferromagnetic order, the specific heat CM(T,B), the
magnetization M(T,B), and even the resistivity {\rho}(T,B) all display B/T
scaling, indicating that they are dominated by strong paramagnetic
fluctuations, where the only characteristic energy scale results from the
Zeeman splitting of an energetically isolated, Yb doublet ground state. This
paramagnetic scattering disappears with the onset of antiferromagnetic order,
revealing Fermi liquid behavior {\Delta}{\rho}=AT2 that persists up to the
antiferromagnetic phase line TN(B), but not beyond. The first-order character
of TN=0 and the ubiquity of the paramagnetic fluctuations imply that
non-Fermi-liquid behaviors are absent in Yb3Pt4. In contrast to heavy fermions
such as YbRh2Si2, Yb3Pt4 represents an extremely simple regime of f-electron
behavior where the Yb moments and conduction electrons are almost decoupled,
and where Kondo physics plays little role.Comment: 10 pages,12 figure
Renormalization group approach of itinerant electron systems near the Lifshitz point
Using the renormalization approach proposed by Millis for the itinerant
electron systems we calculated the specific heat coefficient for
the magnetic fluctuations with susceptibility near the Lifshitz point. The constant value
obtained for and the logarithmic temperature dependence, specific
for the non-Fermi behavior, have been obtained in agreement with the
experimental dat.Comment: 6 pages, Revte
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