388 research outputs found
Wiedemann-Franz law and non-vanishing temperature scale across the field-tuned quantum critical point of YbRh2Si2
The in-plane thermal conductivity kappa(T) and electrical resistivity rho(T)
of the heavy-fermion metal YbRh2Si2 were measured down to 50 mK for magnetic
fields H parallel and perpendicular to the tetragonal c axis, through the
field-tuned quantum critical point, Hc, at which antiferromagnetic order ends.
The thermal and electrical resistivities, w(T) and rho(T), show a linear
temperature dependence below 1 K, typical of the non-Fermi liquid behavior
found near antiferromagnetic quantum critical points, but this dependence does
not persist down to T = 0. Below a characteristic temperature T* ~ 0.35 K,
which depends weakly on H, w(T) and rho(T) both deviate downward and converge
in the T = 0 limit. We propose that T* marks the onset of short-range magnetic
correlations, persisting beyond Hc. By comparing samples of different purity,
we conclude that the Wiedemann-Franz law holds in YbRh2Si2, even at Hc,
implying that no fundamental breakdown of quasiparticle behavior occurs in this
material. The overall phenomenology of heat and charge transport in YbRh2Si2 is
similar to that observed in the heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn5, near its own
field-tuned quantum critical point.Comment: 8 figures, 8 page
Heat Transport as a Probe of Electron Scattering by Spin Fluctuations: the Case of Antiferromagnetic CeRhIn5
Heat and charge conduction were measured in the heavy-fermion metal CeRhIn5,
an antiferromagnet with T_N=3.8 K. The thermal resistivity is found to be
proportional to the magnetic entropy, revealing that spin fluctuations are as
effective in scattering electrons as they are in disordering local moments. The
electrical resistivity, governed by a q^2 weighting of fluctuations, increases
monotonically with temperature. In contrast, the difference between thermal and
electrical resistivities, characterized by an omega^2 weighting, peaks sharply
at T_N and eventually goes to zero at a temperature T^* ~ 8 K. T^* thus emerges
as a measure of the characteristic energy of magnetic fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Ballistic magnon transport and phonon scattering in the antiferromagnet NdCuO
The thermal conductivity of the antiferromagnet NdCuO was measured
down to 50 mK. Using the spin-flop transition to switch on and off the acoustic
Nd magnons, we can reliably separate the magnon and phonon contributions to
heat transport. We find that magnons travel ballistically below 0.5 K, with a
thermal conductivity growing as , from which we extract their velocity. We
show that the rate of scattering of acoustic magnons by phonons grows as ,
and the scattering of phonons by magnons peaks at twice the average Nd magnon
frequency.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, one figure modifie
Field-Induced Quantum Critical Point in CeCoIn5
The resistivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 was measured as a
function of temperature, down to 25 mK and in magnetic fields of up to 16 T
applied perpendicular to the basal plane. With increasing field, we observe a
suppression of the non-Fermi liquid behavior, rho ~ T, and the development of a
Fermi liquid state, with its characteristic rho = rho_0 + AT^2 dependence. The
field dependence of the T^2 coefficient shows critical behavior with an
exponent of 1.37. This is evidence for a field-induced quantum critical point
(QCP), occuring at a critical field which coincides, within experimental
accuracy, with the superconducting critical field H_c2. We discuss the relation
of this field-tuned QCP to a change in the magnetic state, seen as a change in
magnetoresistance from positive to negative, at a crossover line that has a
common border with the superconducting region below ~ 1 K.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (published version
Nonvanishing Energy Scales at the Quantum Critical Point of CeCoIn5
Heat and charge transport were used to probe the magnetic field-tuned quantum
critical point in the heavy-fermion metal CeCoIn. A comparison of
electrical and thermal resistivities reveals three characteristic energy
scales. A Fermi-liquid regime is observed below , with both transport
coefficients diverging in parallel and as , the
critical field. The characteristic temperature of antiferromagnetic spin
fluctuations, , is tuned to a minimum but {\it finite} value at ,
which coincides with the end of the -linear regime in the electrical
resistivity. A third temperature scale, , signals the formation of
quasiparticles, as fermions of charge obeying the Wiedemann-Franz law.
Unlike , it remains finite at , so that the integrity of
quasiparticles is preserved, even though the standard signature of Fermi-liquid
theory fails.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures (published version
The Origin of Anomalous Low-Temperature Downturns in the Thermal Conductivity of Cuprates
We show that the anomalous decrease in the thermal conductivity of cuprates
below 300 mK, as has been observed recently in several cuprate materials
including PrCeCuO in the field-induced normal state,
is due to the thermal decoupling of phonons and electrons in the sample. Upon
lowering the temperature, the phonon-electron heat transfer rate decreases and,
as a result, a heat current bottleneck develops between the phonons, which can
in some cases be primarily responsible for heating the sample, and the
electrons. The contribution that the electrons make to the total low- heat
current is thus limited by the phonon-electron heat transfer rate, and falls
rapidly with decreasing temperature, resulting in the apparent low- downturn
of the thermal conductivity. We obtain the temperature and magnetic field
dependence of the low- thermal conductivity in the presence of
phonon-electron thermal decoupling and find good agreement with the data in
both the normal and superconducting states.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Fermi-surface reconstruction and two-carrier model for the Hall effect in YBa2Cu4O8
Pulsed field measurements of the Hall resistivity and magnetoresistance of
underdoped YBa2Cu4O8 are analyzed self-consistently using a simple model based
on coexisting electron and hole carriers. The resultant mobilities and Hall
numbers are found to vary markedly with temperature. The conductivity of the
hole carriers drops by one order of magnitude below 30 K, explaining the
absence of quantum oscillations from these particular pockets. Meanwhile the
Hall coefficient of the electron carriers becomes strongly negative below 50 K.
The overall quality of the fits not only provides strong evidence for
Fermi-surface reconstruction in Y-based cuprates, it also strongly constrains
the type of reconstruction that might be occurring.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, updated after publication in Physical Review B
(Rapid Communication
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