No Arabic abstract
A series of strong anomalies in the thermoelectric power is observed in the heavy fermion compound YbRh$_2$Si$_2$ under the effect of magnetic field varying in the range from 9.5~T to 13~T. We identify these features with a sequence of topological transformations of the sophisticated Fermi surface of this compound, namely a cascade of Lifshitz topological transitions. In order to undoubtedly attribute these anomalies to the specific topological changes of the Fermi surface, we employ the renormalized band method. Basing on its results we suggest a simplified model consisting of the large peripheral Fermi surface sheet and the number of continuously appearing (disappearing) small voids or necks. We account for the multiple electron scattering processes between various components of the Fermi surface, calculate the corresponding scattering times, and, finally, find the magnetic field dependence of the Seebeck coefficient. The obtained analytical expression reproduces reasonably the observed positions of the maxima and minima as well as the overall line shapes and allows us to identify the character of corresponding topological transformations.
We present magnetization and magnetostriction studies of the insulating perovskite LaCoO3 in magnetic fields approaching 100 T. In marked contrast with expectations from single-ion models, the data reveal two distinct first-order spin transitions and well-defined magnetization plateaux. The magnetization at the higher plateau is only about half the saturation value expected for spin-1 Co3+ ions. These findings strongly suggest collective behavior induced by strong interactions between different electronic -- and therefore spin -- configurations of Co3+ ions. We propose a model of these interactions that predicts crystalline spin textures and a cascade of four magnetic phase transitions at high fields, of which the first two account for the experimental data.
Frustrated magnets can exhibit many novel forms of order when exposed to high magnetic fields, however, much less is known about materials where frustration occurs in the presence of itinerant electrons. Here we report thermodynamic and transport measurements on micron-sized single crystals of the triangular-lattice metallic antiferromagnet 2H-AgNiO2, in magnetic fields of up to 90 T and temperatures down to 0.35 K. We observe a cascade of magnetic phase transitions at 13.5 20, 28 and 39T in fields applied along the easy axis, and we combine magnetic torque, specific heat and transport data to construct the field-temperature phase diagram. The results are discussed in the context of a frustrated easy-axis Heisenberg model for the localized moments where intermediate applied magnetic fields are predicted to stabilize a magnetic supersolid phase. Deviations in the measured phase diagram from this model predictions are attributed to the role played by the itinerant electrons.
We present quantum oscillation measurements of YbRh2Si2 at magnetic fields above the Kondo-suppression scale H0 ~ 10 T. Comparison with electronic structure calculations is complicated because the small Fermi surface, where the Yb 4f-quasi-hole is not contributing to the Fermi volume, and large Fermi surface, where the Yb 4f-quasi-hole is contributing to the Fermi volume, are related by a rigid Fermi energy shift. This means that spin-split branches of the large Fermi surface can look like unsplit branches of the small surface, and vice-versa. Thus, although the high-field angle dependence of the experimentally-measured oscillation frequencies most resembles the electronic structure prediction for the small Fermi surface, this may instead be a branch of the spin-split large Fermi surface.
New thermoelectric power (TEP) measurements on prototype heavy-fermion compounds close to magnetic quantum criticality are presented. The highly sensitive technique of TEP is an unique tool to reveal Fermi surface instabilities, referred here as Lifshitz transitions. The first focus is on the Ising CeRu2Si2 series. Doping CeRu2Si2 with Rh produces a decoupling between the first order metamagnetic transition and the pseudo-metamagnetism observed in the pure compound. Comparison is made with the case of YbRh2Si2 which is often considered as the archetype of local quantum criticality by contrast to CeRu2Si2, taken as an example of spin-density wave criticality. Up to now for ferromagnetic materials showing ferromagnetic wings, no simple case appears where the Fermi surface is preserved between the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. An open issue is the consequence of Lifshitz transitions on superconductivity in these multiband systems.
Magnetic-field-induced changes of the Fermi surface play a central role in theories of the exotic quantum criticality of YbRh2Si2. We have carried out de Haas-van Alphen measurements in the magnetic-field range 8 T <= H <= 16 T, and directly observe field dependence of the extremal Fermi surface areas. Our data support the theory that a low-field large Fermi surface, including the Yb 4f quasihole, is increasingly spin split until a majority-spin branch undergoes a Lifshitz transition and disappears at H0 ~ 10 T, without requiring 4f localization at H0.