236 research outputs found
Optical conductivity of filled skutterudites
A simple tight-binding model is constructed for the description of the
electronic structure of some Ce-based filled skutterudite compounds showing an
energy gap or pseudogap behavior. Assuming band-diagonal electron interactions
on this tight-binding model, the optical conductivity spectrum is calculated by
applying the second-order self-consistent perturbation theory to treat the
electron correlation. The correlation effect is found to be of great importance
on the description of the temperature dependence of the optical conductivity.
The rapid disappearance of an optical gap with increasing temperature is
obtained as observed in the optical experiment for Ce-based filled-skutterudite
compounds.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, use jpsj2.cls, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn.
Vol.73, No.10 (2004
Kondo Effect in Fermi Systems with a Gap: A Renormalization Group Study
We present the results of a Wilson Renormalization Group study of the
single-impurity Kondo and Anderson models in a system with a gap in the
conduction electron spectrum. The behavior of the impurity susceptibility and
the zero-frequency response function, are discussed in the
cases with and without particle-hole symmetry. In addition, for the asymmetric
Anderson model the correlation functions, , are computed.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Diffraction from Ordered States of Higher Multipoles
Possible ways of identification are discussed of an electronic order of
higher multipoles such as octupoles and hexadecapoles. A particularly powerful
method is resonant X-ray scattering (RXS) using quadrupolar resonance processes
called E2.The characteristic azimuthal angle dependence of
CeLaB is interpreted as evidence of antiferro-octupole
order. For PrRuP, eightfold pattern against azimuthal angle is
predicted if its metal-insulator transition is a consequence of a hexadecapole
order. In non-resonant superlattice Bragg scattering, hexadecapole contribution
may also be identified because of absence of quadrupole component.Comment: Invited paper to be published in Proc. Hiroshima Workshop on Novel
Functional Materials with Multinary Freedoms (Physica B, 2006
Low temperature specific heat of the heavy fermion superconductor PrOsSb
We report the magnetic field dependence of the low temperature specific heat
of single crystals of the first Pr-based heavy fermion superconductor
PrOsSb. The low temperature specific heat and the magnetic phase
diagram inferred from specific heat, resistivity and magnetisation provide
compelling evidence of a doublet ground state and hence superconductivity
mediated by quadrupolar fluctuations. This establishes PrOsSb as a
very strong contender of superconductive pairing that is neither
electron-phonon nor magnetically mediated.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
High magnetic field phase diagram of PrOs4Sb12
The magnetic phase diagram of PrOsSb has been investigated by
specific heat measurements between 8 and 32 T. A new Schottky anomaly due to
excitations between two lowest crystalline-electric-field (CEF) singlets, has
been found for both and above the field
where the field-induced ordered phase (FIOP) is suppressed. The constructed
phase diagram shows weak magnetic anisotropy and implies a crossing of
the two CEF levels at about 8 - 9 T for both field directions. These results
provide an unambiguous evidence for the singlet being the CEF ground
state and suggest the level crossing (involving lowest CEF levels) as the
driving mechanism of FIOP.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Theory of Metal-Insulator Transition in PrRu4P12 and PrFe4P12
All symmetry allowed couplings between the 4f^2-electron ground state doublet
of trivalent praseodymium in PrRu4P12 and PrFe4P12 and displacements of the
phosphorus, iron or ruthenium ions are considered. Two types of displacements
can change the crystal lattice from body-centred cubic to simple orthorhombic
or to simple cubic. The first type lowers the point group symmetry from
tetrahedral to orthorhombic, while the second type leaves it unchanged, with
corresponding space group reductions Im3 --> Pmmm and Im3 --> Pm3 respectively.
In former case, the lower point-group symmetry splits the degeneracy of the
4f^2 doublet into states with opposite quadrupole moment, which then leads to
anti-quadrupolar ordering, as in PrFe4P12. Either kind of displacement may
conspire with nesting of the Fermi surface to cause the metal-insulator or
partial metal-insulator transition observed in PrFe4P12 and PrRu4P12. We
investigate this scenario using band-structure calculations, and it is found
that displacements of the phosphorus ions in PrRu4P12 (with space group
reduction Im3 --> Pm3) open a gap everywhere on the Fermi surface.Comment: 6 page
Theory of Crystalline Electric Field and Kondo Effect in Pr Skutterudites
Possible Kondo effect in Pr skutterudite is studied with attention to
characteristic features of low-lying crystalline electric field (CEF) levels
and the conduction band. A mechanism for the small CEF splitting between a
singlet and a triplet is proposed as combination of the point-charge
interaction and hybridization of 4f with ligand p states. Provided 4f^3
configurations dominate over 4f^1 as intermediate states, p-f hybridization
favors the triplet, while point-charge interaction favors the singlet. For
realistic parameters for hybridization as well as 4f^1 and 4f^3 levels, these
singlet and triplet can form a nearly degenerate pseudo-quartet. It is found
that one of two spin 1/2 objects composing the pseudo-quartet has a
ferromagnetic exchange, while the other has an antiferromagnetic exchange with
conduction electrons. The magnitude of each effective exchange depends strongly
on a parameter characterizing the triplet wave function under the T_h symmetry.
It is argued that differences of this parameter among Pr skutterdudites are
responsible for the apparent diversity of their physical properties. Numerical
renormalization group is used to derive the renormalization flows going toward
singlet, doublet, triplet or quaret according to the CEF splitting and exchange
interactions.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Special Invited Section
(Kondo Effect) of Journal of Physical Society of Japa
Formation Mechanism of Hybridization Gap in Kondo Insulators based on a Realistic Band Model and Application to YbB
A new LDA+U band calculation is performed on the Kondo insulator material
YbB and an energy gap of about 0.001Ryd is obtained. Based on this, a
simple tight-binding model with 5d and 4f orbitals on Yb
atoms and the nearest neighbor -bonds between them is constructed with
a good agreement to the above the LDA+U calculation near the gap. The density
of states is also calculated and the shape is found to be very asymmetric with
respect to the gap. A formation mechanism of the gap is clarified for the first
time in a realistic situation with the orbital degeneracies in both conduction
bands and the f states. This model can be a useful starting point for
incorporating the strong correlation effect, and for understanding all the
thermal, thermoelectric, transport and magnetic properties of YbB.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol. 72 No. 5
(2003
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