No Arabic abstract
We report complex metamagnetic transitions in single crystals of the new low carrier Kondo antiferromagnet YbRh3Si7. Electrical transport, magnetization, and specific heat measurements reveal antiferromagnetic order at T_N = 7.5 K. Neutron diffraction measurements show that the magnetic ground state of YbRh3Si7 is a collinear antiferromagnet where the moments are aligned in the ab plane. With such an ordered state, no metamagnetic transitions are expected when a magnetic field is applied along the c axis. It is therefore surprising that high field magnetization, torque, and resistivity measurements with H||c reveal two metamagnetic transitions at mu_0H_1 = 6.7 T and mu_0H_2 = 21 T. When the field is tilted away from the c axis, towards the ab plane, both metamagnetic transitions are shifted to higher fields. The first metamagnetic transition leads to an abrupt increase in the electrical resistivity, while the second transition is accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the electrical resistivity. Thus, the magnetic and electronic degrees of freedom in YbRh3Si7 are strongly coupled. We discuss the origin of the anomalous metamagnetism and conclude that it is related to competition between crystal electric field anisotropy and anisotropic exchange interactions.
Kondo-based semimetals and semiconductors are of extensive current interest as a viable platform for strongly correlated states. It is thus important to understand the routes towards such dilute-carrier correlated states. One established pathway is through Kondo effect in metallic non-magnetic analogues. Here we advance a new mechanism, through which Kondo-based semimetals develop out of conduction electrons with a low carrier-density in the presence of an even number of rare-earth sites. We demonstrate this effect by studying the Kondo material Yb3Ir4Ge13 along with its closed-f-shell counterpart, Lu3Ir4Ge13. Through magnetotransport, optical conductivity and thermodynamic measurements, we establish that the correlated semimetallic state of Yb3Ir4Ge13 below its Kondo temperature originates from the Kondo effect of a low carrier conduction-electron background. In addition, it displays fragile magnetism at very low temperatures, which, in turn, can be tuned to a non Fermi liquid regime through Lu-for-Yb substitution. These findings are connected with recent theoretical studies in simplified models. Our results open an entirely new venue to explore the strong correlation physics in a semimetallic environment.
Doping Kondo lattice system CeRu2Si2 with Rh-8% (Ce(Ru0.92Rh0.08)2Si2) leads to drastic consequences due to the mismatch of the lattice parameters between CeRu2Si2 and CeRh2Si2. A large variety of experiments clarifies the unusual properties of the ground state induced by the magnetic field from longitudinal antiferromagnetic (AF) mode at H = 0 to polarized paramagnetic phase in very high magnetic field. The separation between AF phase, paramagnetic phase and polarized paramagnetic phase varying with temperature, magnetic field and pressure is discussed on the basis of the experiments down to very low temperature. Similarities and differences between Rh and La substituted alloys are discussed with emphasis on the competition between transverse and longitudinal AF modes, and ferromagnetic fluctuations.
CeRh2As2 has recently been reported to be a rare case of multi-phase unconventional superconductor [S. Khim et al., arXiv:2101.09522] close to a quantum critical point (QCP). Here, we present a comprehensive study of its normal state properties and of the phase (I) below To ~ 0.4 K which preempts superconductivity at Tc = 0.26 K. The 2nd-order phase transition at To presents signatures in specific heat and thermal expansion, but none in magnetization and ac-susceptibility, indicating a non-magnetic origin of phase I. In addition, an upturn of the in-plane resistivity at To points to a gap opening at the Fermi level in the basal plane. Thermal expansion indicates a strong positive pressure dependence of To , dTo/dp = 1.5 K/GPa, in contrast to the strong negative pressure coefficient observed for magnetic order in Ce-based Kondo lattices close to a QCP. Similarly, an in-plane magnetic field shifts To to higher temperatures and transforms phase I into another non-magnetic phase (II) through a 1st-order phase transition at about 9 T. Using renormalized band structure calculations, we found that the Kondo effect (TK ~ 30 K) leads to substantial mixing of the excited crystalline-electric-field (CEF) states into the ground state. This allows quadrupolar degrees of freedom in the resulting heavy bands at the Fermi level which are prone to nesting. The huge sensitivity of the quadrupole moment on hybridization together with nesting would cause an unprecedented case of phase transition into a quadrupole-density-wave (QDW) state at a temperature To << TK , which would explain the nature of phase I and II.
Heavy fermion (HF) materials exhibit a rich array of phenomena due to the strong Kondo coupling between their localized moments and itinerant electrons. A central question in their study is to understand the interplay between magnetic order and charge transport, and its role in stabilizing new quantum phases of matter. Particularly promising in this regard is a family of tetragonal intermetallic compounds Ce{$TX$}$_2$ ($T=$ transition metal, $X=$ pnictogen), that includes a variety of HF compounds showing $T$-linear electronic specific heat $bf{C_e sim gamma T}$, with $gammasim$ 20-500 mJ$cdot$mol$^{-1}$~K$^{-2}$, reflecting an effective mass enhancement ranging from small to modest. Here, we study the low-temperature field-tuned phase diagram of high-quality CeAgBi$_2$ using magnetometry and transport measurements. We find an antiferromagnetic transition at ${T_{N} = 6.4}$~K with weak magnetic anisotropy and the easy axis along the $c$-axis, similar to previous reports (${T_{N} = 6.1}$~K). This scenario, along with the presence of two anisotropic Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions, leads to a rich field-tuned magnetic phase diagram, consisting of five metamagnetic transitions of both first and second order. In addition, we unveil an anomalous Hall contribution for fields $H<54$ kOe which is drastically altered when $H$ is tuned through a trio of transitions at 57, 78, and 84~kOe, suggesting that the Fermi surface is reconstructed in a subset of the metamagnetic transitions.
We present a phenomenological solution of the Kondo lattice that is derived from an analysis of the bulk specific heat and spin susceptibility of the heavy electron superconductor CeCoIn5. We find that below a crossover temperature corresponding to the intersite coupling scale, T* ~ 45 K, the Kondo gas (of non-interacting Kondo impurities) partially condenses into a heavy electron Kondo liquid that has a temperature independent Wilson ratio = 2.0. The relative fraction, f, of the condensed Kondo liquid component plays the role of an order parameter; it increases linearly with decreasing temperature until it saturates at its low temperature value of 0.9. The resistivity is shown to be simply the product of (1-f) and that of an isolated Kondo impurity. The generality of this result is suggested by the corresponding analysis for Ce1-xLaxCoIn5 and CeIrIn5.