No Arabic abstract
Recently it was shown that the multipolar Kondo problem, wherein a quantum impurity carrying higher-rank multipolar moments interacts with conduction electrons, leads to novel non-Fermi liquid states. Because of the multipolar character of the local moments, the form of the interaction with conduction electrons is strongly dependent on the orbital-symmetry of the conduction electrons via crystalline symmetry constraints. This suggests that there may exist a variety of different non-Fermi liquid states in generic multipolar Kondo problems depending on the character of conduction electrons. In this work, using renormalization group analysis, we investigate a model where the multipolar local moment is coupled to conduction electrons with two different orbital-symmetry components, namely $p$-wave and $f$-wave symmetries. When each orbital-symmetry component is present alone, non-Fermi liquid states with exactly the same thermodynamic singularities appear. When both orbital-symmetry components are allowed, however, a completely different non-Fermi liquid state arises via the quantum fluctuations in the mixed scattering channels. This remarkable result suggests that the multipolar Kondo problem presents novel opportunities for the discovery of unexpected non-Fermi liquid states.
The multipolar Kondo problem, wherein the quantum impurity carries higher-rank multipolar moments, has seen recent theoretical and experimental interest due to proposals of novel non-Fermi liquid states and the availability of a variety of material platforms. The multipolar nature of local moments, in conjunction with constraining crystal field symmetries, leads to a vast array of possible interactions and resulting non-Fermi liquid ground states. Previous works on Kondo physics have typically focussed on impurities that have two degenerate internal states. In this work, inspired by recent experiments on the tetragonal material YbRu$_{2}$Ge$_{2}$, which has been shown to exhibit a local moment with a quasi-fourfold degenerate ground state, we consider the Kondo effect for such a quasi-quartet multipolar impurity. In the tetragonal crystal field environment, the local moment supports dipolar, quadrupolar, and octupolar moments, which interact with conduction electrons in entangled spin and orbital states. Using renormalization group analysis, we uncover a number of emergent quantum ground states characterized by non-trivial fixed points. It is shown that these previously unidentified fixed points are described by truncated SU(4) Kondo models, where only some of the SU(4) generators (representing the impurity degrees of freedom) are coupled to conduction electrons. Such novel non-trivial fixed points are unique to the quasi-quartet multipolar impurity, reinforcing the idea that an unexplored rich diversity of phenomena may be produced by multipolar quantum impurity systems.
One of the most notorious non-Fermi liquid properties of both archetypal heavy-fermion systems [1-4] and the high-Tc copper oxide superconductors [5] is an electrical resistivity that evolves linearly with temperature, T. In the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 [5], this linear behaviour was one of the first indications of the presence of a zero-temperature instability, or quantum critical point. Here, we report the observation of a unique control parameter of T-linear scattering in CeCoIn5, found through systematic chemical substitutions of both magnetic and non-magnetic rare-earth, R, ions into the Ce sub-lattice. We find that the evolution of inelastic scattering in Ce1-xRxCoIn5 is strongly dependent on the f-electron configuration of the R ion, whereas two other key properties -- Cooper-pair breaking and Kondo-lattice coherence -- are not. Thus, T-linear resistivity in CeCoIn5 is intimately related to the nature of incoherent scattering centers in the Kondo lattice, which provides insight into the anomalous scattering rate synonymous with quantum criticality [7].
Heavy electron metals on the verge of a quantum phase transition to magnetism show a number of unusual non-fermi liquid properties which are poorly understood. This article discusses in a general way various theoretical aspects of this phase transition with an eye toward understanding the non-fermi liquid phenomena. We suggest that the non-Fermi liquid quantum critical state may have a sharp Fermi surface with power law quasiparticles but with a volume not set by the usual Luttinger rule. We also discuss the possibility that the electronic structure change associated with the possible Fermi surface reconstruction may diverge at a different time/length scale from that associated with magnetic phenomena.
Strong electron correlations can give rise to extraordinary properties of metals with renormalized quasiparticles which are at the basis of Landaus Fermi liquid theory. Near a quantum critical point, these quasiparticles can be destroyed and non-Fermi liquid behavior ensues. YbRh$_2$Si$_2$ is a prototypical correlated metal as it exhibits quasiparticles formation, formation of Kondo lattice coherence and quasiparticle destruction at a field-induced quantum critical point. Here we show how, upon lowering the temperature, the Kondo lattice coherence develops and finally gives way to non-Fermi liquid electronic excitations. By measuring the single-particle excitations through scanning tunneling spectroscopy down to 0.3 K, we find the Kondo lattice peak emerging below the Kondo temperature $T_{rm K} sim$ 25 K, yet this peak displays a non-trivial temperature dependence with a strong increase around 3.3 K. At the lowest temperature and as a function of an external magnetic field, the width of this peak is minimized in the quantum critical regime. Our results provide a striking demonstration of the non-Fermi liquid electronic excitations in quantum critical metals, thereby elucidating the strange-metal phenomena that have been ubiquitously observed in strongly correlated electron materials.
While the Mott transition from a Fermi liquid is correctly believed to obtain without the breaking of any continuous symmetry, we show that in fact a discrete emergent $mathbb Z_2$ symmetry of the Fermi surface is broken. The extra $mathbb Z_2$ symmetry of the Fermi liquid appears to be little known although it was pointed out by Anderson and Haldane and we use it here to classify all possible Fermi liquids topologically by invoking K-homology. It is this $mathbb Z_2$ symmetry breaking that signals the onset of particle-hole asymmetry, a widely observed phenomenon in strongly correlated systems. In addition from this principle, we are able to classify which interactions suffice to generate the $mathbb Z_2$-symmetry-broken phase. As this is a symmetry breaking in momentum space, the local-in-momentum space interaction of the Hatsugai-Kohmoto (HK) model suffices as well as the Hubbard interaction as it contains the HK interaction. Both lie in the same universality class as can be seen from exact diagonalization. We then use the Bott topological invariant to establish the stability of a Luttinger surface. Our proof demonstrates that the strongly coupled fixed point only corresponds to those Luttinger surfaces with co-dimension $p+1$ with $p$ odd. Because they both lie in the same universality class, we conclude that the Hubard and HK models are controlled by this fixed point.