Interband surface waves

The existence of the surface electromagnetic waves with the gap spectrum, which are caused by interband electron transitions in metals is demonstrated. The spectrum and the damping of these waves are found, and the role of Fermi liquid effects is analysed.     

Excitation of spin-helicon waves in sodium and potassium

The excitation of bound spin-helicon waves in the electron Fermi liquid of alkaline metals with variable field incident on a plane surface is analysed. The practicability of a spin-wave resonance in a semi-infinite metal (but not in a thin film, as usual) is demonstrated. The reflection coefficient is calculated and the resonance conditions are found.     

General properties of a magnetic-field-induced landau Fermi liquid in high-temperature superconductors and heavy fermion metals

It has been shown that the magnetic-field-induced transition from a non-Fermi-liquid state to a Fermi liquid state in the Tl₂Ba₂CuO_{6 + x} high-temperature superconductor is similar to a transition observed in heavy fermion metals. This behavior is explained in the theory of the Fermi condensate quantum-phase transition implying the existence of Landau quasiparticles. The Fermi condensate quantum-phase transition can be considered as a universal cause of the strongly correlated behavior observed in various metals and liquids such as high-temperature superconductors, heavy fermion metals, and two-dimensional Fermi systems.     

The chemical nature of electron waves in metals — A basis for the study of heterogeneous catalysis

The tight-binding method is used to describe the electronic waves of metals in the atomic orbital language familiar to chemists. It is shown that (in both fcc and bcc crystals) k vectors with components (0, 0, 1) or (1, 1, 1) carry hybrids between the s waves and Z² waves whose axis Z is parallel to the direction of the wave vector. In particular the higher-energy hybrid waves are strongly pointed along the wave vector direction. Furthermore, using the finite cube model, with excellent analytical approximations to the orbitals, the existence of privileged wave vector directions perpendicular to the surface approached by an incoming substrate is demonstrated. A preliminary discussion of the favorable conditions for catalysis emphasizes the extremely favorable role of such pointed hybrids if their sub-band lies (empty) just above the Fermi level of the metal.     

Surface electromagnetic waves in a Fermi liquid

Surface electromagnetic waves propagating along a Fermi liquid-dielectric interface are investigated. A dispersion relation for the surface waves is obtained, and the frequency range of their existence is determined. The possibility of determining the contribution of a Fermi liquid to the dielectric permittivity of a metal from experiments on excitation of surface electromagnetic waves is shown.     

Universal behavior of heavy-fermion metals near a quantum critical point

The behavior of the electronic system of heavy-fermion metals is considered. We show that there exist at least two main types of the behavior when the system is near quantum critical point, which can be identified as the fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT). We show that the first type is represented by the behavior of a highly correlated Fermi liquid, while the second type is depicted by the behavior of a strongly correlated Fermi liquid. If the system approaches FCQPT from the disordered phase, it can be viewed as a highly correlated Fermi liquid which at low temperatures exhibits the behavior of Landau Fermi liquid (LFL). At higher temperatures T, it demonstrates the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior which can be converted into the LFL behavior by the application of magnetic fields B. If the system has undergone FCQPT, it can be considered as a strongly correlated Fermi liquid which demonstrates the NFL behavior even at low temperatures. It can be turned into LFL by applying magnetic fields B. We show that the effective mass M* diverges at the very point that the Neél temperature goes to zero. The B-T phase diagrams of both liquids are studied. We demonstrate that these B-T phase diagrams have a strong impact on the main properties of heavy-fermion metals, such as the magnetoresistance, resistivity, specific heat, magnetization, and volume thermal expansion.     

Asymmetric Tunneling Conductance and the Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior of Strongly Correlated Fermi Systems

Tunneling differential conductivity (or resistivity) is a sensitive tool to experimentally test the non-Fermi liquid behavior of strongly correlated Fermi systems. In the case of common metals the Landau–Fermi liquid theory demonstrates that the differential conductivity is a symmetric function of bias voltage V. This is because the particle–hole symmetry is conserved in the Landau–Fermi liquid state. When a strongly correlated Fermi system turns out to be near the topological fermion condensation quantum phase transition, its Landau–Fermi liquid properties disappear so that the particle–hole symmetry breaks making the differential tunneling conductivity to be asymmetric function of V. This asymmetry can be observed when a strongly correlated metal is in its normal, superconducting or pseudogap states. We show that the asymmetric part of the dynamic conductance does not depend on temperature provided that the metal is in its superconducting or pseudogap states. In normal state, the asymmetric part diminishes at rising temperatures. Under the application of magnetic field the metal transits to the Landau–Fermi liquid state and the differential tunneling conductivity becomes a symmetric function of V. These findings are in good agreement with recent experimental observations.     

Fermi surface effect on intrinsic Lorenz number of Fermi liquids

We investigate a Fermi surface effect on the ideal Lorenz ratio of an anisotropic Fermi liquid caused by the onset of Umklapp scatterings. After discussing simple models by way of illustration, we present numerical results for transition metals, and indicate a material with a simple Fermi surface like sodium cobaltite as a possible candidate to observe the effect.     

Single-particle occupation function and indirect ion-ion interaction in liquid metals

Using Bardeen's disorder scattering model we calculate the single-particle occupation function for liquid metals. Our results demonstrate that the blurring of the Fermi surface is considerable in liquids with short mean free path. Finally, using an appropriate dielectric function, we obtain the effective ion-ion interaction which shows how the Friedel oscillations are damped in the liquid.     

de Haas van Alphen (dHvA) effect in two-dimensional (2D) conductors: susceptibility oscillations

A new scheme for analyzing the de Haas van Alphen (dHvA) effect in nearly two dimensional (2D) metals (i.e. with nearly cylindrical Fermi surface) is presented. The envelope of the magnetic susceptibility oscillations is calculated in the entire range of magnetic fields and temperatures. The resulting envelope function is found to be proportional to a universal function of the dimensionless parameter Q=hω_c/k _B T. The upper (i.e. paramagnetic) branch of the susceptibility envelope has a maximum at a certain Q = 5.45. This universal value may be useful for determining the effective cyclotron mass and the Fermi energy of nearly 2D metals. A simple relation between magnetization oscillations amplitude and calculated susceptibility amplitudes is derived. The corresponding limiting formulae for the magnetization oscillations envelope are found to match smoothly around the value X = 2π²/Q?2 of the Lifshitz-Kosevich (LK) smearing parameter. The influence of Fermi surface sheets with open orbits on magneto-quantum oscillations is considered. Triangle-like rather than saw-tooth-like oscillations at ultralow temperatures are obtained and substantially diminished magnetization and susceptibility amplitudes are calculated. This suggests the possibility of estimating the band structure parameters of Fermi surface sheets from magneto-quantum oscillations measurements.     

Phase diagram of strongly correlated Fermi systems

Phase transitions caused by the redistribution of quasiparticle occupation numbers n(p) in homogeneous Fermi systems with particle repulsion are analyzed. The phase diagram of a strongly correlated Fermi system, when drawn in the coordinates “density ρ-dimensionless coupling constant η,” resembles a Washington pie for a rather broad class of interactions. Its upper part is “filled” with Fermi condensate, and the bottom part is filled with normal Fermi liquid. Both parts are separated by a narrow interlayer of Lifshitz phase with a multiply connected Fermi surface.     

On non-Fermi liquid quantum critical points in heavy fermion metals

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.     

Low-frequency electromagnetic waves in compensative metals

Low-frequency electromagnetic waves in compensated metals have been investigated theoretically and experimentally. A spectrum and wave damping was obtained in the vicinity of Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance lines in cadmium. The comparison of theoretical and experimental data gives a more accurate picture of the electron surface of Fermi cadmium.     

Holographic metals and the fractionalized fermi liquid

We show that there is a close correspondence between the physical properties of holographic metals near charged black holes in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, and the fractionalized Fermi liquid phase of the lattice Anderson model. The latter phase has a "small" Fermi surface of conduction electrons, along with a spin liquid of local moments. This correspondence implies that certain mean-field gapless spin liquids are states of matter at nonzero density realizing the near-horizon, AdS? × R2 physics of Reissner-Nordstr?m black holes.     

Charge-density-wave partial gap opening in quasi-2D KMo6O17 purple bronze studied by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Low dimensional (LD) metallic oxides have been a subject of continuous interest in the last two decades, mainly due to the electronic instabilities that they present at low temperatures. In particular, charge density waves (CDW) instabilities associated with a strong electron-phonon interaction have been found in Molybdenum metallic oxides such as KMo₆O₁₇ purple bronze. We report an angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) study from room temperature (RT) to T ∼40 K well below the Peierls transition temperature for this material, with CDW transition temperature T_CDW ∼120 K. We have focused on photoemission spectra along ΓM high symmetry direction as well as photoemission measurements were taken as a function of temperature at one representative k_F point in the Brillouin zone in order to look for the characteristic gap opening after the phase transition. We found out a pseudogap opening and a decrease in the density of states near the Fermi energy, E_F, consistent with the partial removal of the nested portions of the Fermi surface (FS) at temperature below the CDW transition. In order to elucidate possible Fermi liquid (FL) or non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behaviour we have compared the ARPES data with that one reported on quasi-1D K_0.3MoO₃ blue bronze.     

Transition from non-fermi liquid behavior to Landau–Fermi liquid behavior induced by magnetic fields

We show that a strongly correlated Fermi system with a fermion condensate which exhibits strong deviations from Landau–Fermi liquid behavior is driven into the Landau–Fermi liquid by applying a small magnetic field B at temperature T=0. This field-induced Landau–Fermi liquid behavior provides constancy of the Kadowaki–Woods ratio. A re-entrance into the strongly correlated regime is observed if the magnetic field B decreases to zero; the effective mass M* then diverges as \(M^* \propto {1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt B }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt B }}\). At finite temperatures, the strongly correlated regime is restored at some temperature \(T^* \propto \sqrt B \). This behavior is of a general form and takes place in both three-dimensional and two-dimensional strongly correlated systems. We demonstrate that the observed \({1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 {\sqrt B }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt B }}\) divergence of the effective mass and other specific features of heavy-fermion metals are accounted for by our consideration.     

Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics: Foundations and Applications,by Phyl Attard

Ultrasonic waves have been produced in the laboratory at frequencies up to 24 kMc/s. The mechanism of the absorption process is examined and the experimental measurement of attenuation coefficient is discussed. The types of research problem for which a study of ultrasonic attenuation may be useful are summarised. Particular attention is given to the low temperature absorption of megacycle ultrasound by electrons in metals; the magneto-acoustic effect and its usefulness in evaluating the Fermi surface are briefly described.     

Electrical resistivity of alkali metals: Inflation–deflation effect of Fermi surface

The electrical resistivity of liquid alkali metals was calculated using the extended Ziman formula. The possible role of Fermi surface (FS) inflation–deflation (ID) was examined. The calculations reveal that replacing the sharp free electron FS by the expanded (respectively, contracted) one substantially improves the results. This was achieved directly by considering a FS correction factor of the Fermi radius and indirectly by a shift in the muffin-tin zero (MTZ) of the potential from its initial values. Consequently, a correlation between the shift of the MTZ of the potential and the FS factor parameter is revealed. The role of this correlation might contribute to a better understanding of the electron transport properties of other liquid metals and their alloys.     

The anion and cation effects in the magnetic anisotropy of rare-earth compounds: Charge screening by conduction electrons

The formation of magnetic anisotropy (MA) in rare-earth compounds with transition metals has been analyzed. The screening of the charges creating the crystal field by conduction electrons has been shown to play an important role. The calculations took into account the Friedel charge-density oscillations. The model used for RCo₅ is the point-charge crystal field including nonuniform screening by conduction electrons with an anisotropic Fermi surface. The mechanisms of strong MA due to light-element impurities (hydrogen and nitrogen) are considered. The effective charge of an impurity can heavily depend on its ionic radius and the characteristics of the Fermi surface (in particular, on the Fermi momentum k _F ) of the screening electrons. The screening of the cation and anion charge in hydrides and nitrides based on the R₂Fe₁₇ and RFe₁₁Ti intermetallic compounds is discussed.