No Arabic abstract
We use high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the electronic structure of the antiferromagnetic heavy fermion compound CePt2In7, which is a member of the CeIn3-derived heavy fermion material family. Weak hybridization among 4f electron states and conduction bands was identified in CePt2In7 at low temperature much weaker than that in the other heavy fermion compounds like CeIrIn5 and CeRhIn5. The Ce 4f spectrum shows fine structures near the Fermi energy, reflecting the crystal electric field splitting of the 4f^1_5/2 and 4f^1_7/2 states. Also, we find that the Fermi surface has a strongly three-dimensional topology, in agreement with density-functional theory calculations.
The three-dimensional electronic structure and Ce 4f electrons of the heavy fermion superconductor CePt2In7 is investigated. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy using variable photon energy establishes the existence of quasi-two and three dimensional Fermi surface topologies. Temperature-dependent 4d-4f on-resonance photoemission spectroscopies reveal that heavy quasiparticle bands begin to form at a temperature well above the characteristic (coherence) temperature T*. T* emergence may be closely related to crystal electric field splitting, particularly the low-lying heavy band formed by crystal electric field splitting.
In this document, I present a personal view on the heavy-fermion problem, within a phenomenological approach guided by experiments. This review presents a set of historical works which established the ground bases of the thematic during the last decades. An exhaustive and systematic approach is privileged. After a general presentation in Chapter 2, the properties of heavy-fermion paramagnets, antiferromagnets, and ferromagnets are considered in Chapters 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to two specific compounds, URu$_2$Si$_2$ for which a hidden-order phase constitutes a more-than-thirty-years-old unsolved mystery, and UTe$_2$, where multiple superconducting phases have been discovered in the last two years. Experiments performed using a panel of techniques ranging from microscopic (neutron scattering, NMR, etc.) to thermodynamic (specific heat, magnetization, etc.) and transport (electrical resistivity, etc.) probes, under extreme conditions of low temperatures, intense magnetic fields and high pressures, are reviewed. They show that magnetism plays a central role in the quantum critical properties of heavy-fermion systems. An emphasis is given to the intersite magnetic fluctuations, presented as the driving force for a heavy Fermi liquid, precursor of quantum magnetic criticality ending in magnetically-ordered phases. They are also suspected to drive an unconventional mechanism for superconductivity, which develops in the vicinity of quantum magnetic phase transitions induced under pressure or magnetic field. The appearance of magnetic fluctuations and ultimately magnetic order in heavy-fermion compounds occurs in a nearly-integer-valence regime, in which $f$ electrons have a dual itinerant-localized character. Fermi-surface and valence studies, which give complementary information about this duality, are also considered.
We systemically investigate the nature of Ce 4f electrons in structurally layered heavy-fermion compounds CcmMnIn3m+2n (with M =Co, Rh, Ir, and Pt, m=l, 2, n=0 - 2), at low temperature using on-resonance angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Three heavy quasiparticle bands f^0, f^1_7/2 and f^1_5/2 are observed in all compounds, but their intensities and energy locations vary greatly with materials. The strong f^0 states imply that the localized electron behavior dominates the Ce 4f states. The Ce 4f electrons are partially hybridized with the conduction electrons, making them have the dual nature of localization and itinerant. Our quantitative comparison reveals that the f^1_5/2 / f^0 intensity ratio is more suitable to reflect the 4f-state hybridization strength.
We report 125Te-NMR studies on a newly discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe2. Using a single crystal, we have measured the 125Te-NMR Knight shift K and spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 for fields along the three orthorhombic crystal axes. The data confirm a moderate Ising anisotropy for both the static (K) and dynamical susceptibilities (1/T1) in the paramagnetic state above about 20 K. Around 20 K, however, we have observed a sudden loss of NMR spin-echo signal due to sudden enhancement of the NMR spin-spin relaxation rate 1/T2, when the field is applied along the easy axis of magnetization (=a axis). This behavior suggests the development of longitudinal magnetic fluctuations along the a axis at very low frequencies below 20 K.
We present a detailed quantum oscillation study of the Fermi surface of the recently discovered Yb-based heavy fermion superconductor beta-YbAlB4 . We compare the data, obtained at fields from 10 to 45 Tesla, to band structure calculations performed using the local density approximation. Analysis of the data suggests that f-holes participate in the Fermi surface up to the highest magnetic fields studied. We comment on the significance of these findings for the unconventional superconducting properties of this material.