Non-Fermi liquid regimes in U1−xMxPd2Al3(M=Y,Th)

The temperature-composition (T–x) phase diagram and NFL characteristics in the electrical resistivity ρ(T), specific heat C(T), and magnetic susceptibility χ(T) at low temperatures for the systems U_1−xM_xPd₂Al₃ (M=Y,Th) are described. The T–x phase diagram, the NFL characteristics, and the underlying mechanism for the NFL behavior are distinctly different for M=Y³⁺ and Th⁴⁺, apparently reflecting the difference in valence of the M atom substituents, and suggesting that U is tetravalent in these two systems.     

CeAu2In4: A candidate of quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice

Needle-like single crystals of CeAu₂In₄ have been grown from In flux and characterized as a new candidate of quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice compound by crystallographic, magnetic, transport, and specific-heat measurements down to very low temperatures. We observe an antiferromagnetic transition at T_N ≈ 0.9 K, a highly non-mean-field profile of the corresponding peak in specific heat, and a large Sommerfeld coefficient γ =369 mJ·mol^-1·K^-2. The Kondo temperature T_K is estimated to be 1.1 K, being low and comparable to T_N. While Fermi liquid behavior is observed deep into the magnetically ordered phase, the Kadowaki-Woods ratio is much reduced relative to the expected value for Ce compounds with Kramers doublet ground state. Markedly, this feature shares striking similarities to that of the prototypical quasi-one-dimensional compounds YbNi₄P₂ and CeRh₆Ge₄ with tunable ferromagnetic quantum critical point. Given the shortest Ce-Ce distance along the needle direction, CeAu₂In₄ appears to be an interesting model system for exploring antiferromagnetic quantum critical behaviors in a quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice with enhanced quantum fluctuations.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAslPOl_yFy

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides （chalcogenides） not only trig- gers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d- antiferromagnetic （AFM） ordering below 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically corelated heavy-fermion （HF） metal with Kondo scale TK 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity （SC）. In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsOl_yFy （y = 0 and 0.05）. This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, Xcl -- 0.4 and Xc2 - 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce3＋ moment at Xc3 - 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of Xcl. We continue to investigate CeFeAsl-xPxO0.95Fo.os. With the separation of xcl and xc3, this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0〈 x 〈 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F- doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Itinerant to relocalized transition of f electrons in the Kondo insulator CeRu4Sn6

The three-dimensional electronic structure and the nature of Ce 4f electrons of the Kondo insulator CeRu₄Sn₆ are investigated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, utilizing tunable photon energies. Our results reveal (i) the three-dimensional k-space nature of the Fermi surface, (ii) the localized-to-itinerant transition of f electrons occurs at a much high temperature than the hybridization gap opening temperature, and (iii) the “relocalization” of itinerant f-electrons below 25 K, which could be the precursor to the establishment of magnetic order.     

重费米子化合物LiV2O4电子结构的第一性原理研究

用第一性性原理的FP-LMTO能带计算方法研究了重费米子化合物LiV2O4的电子结构。结果表明：费米面附近的导带是由V原子的3d电子形成的宽度为2.5eV的窄能带,是3d态在立方晶体场中具有t2g对称性的子带;它与O的2p轨道构成的能带有近1.9eV的能隙。计算得出的费米能处电子态密度和线性电子比热系数分别是11.1states/eV f.u.和26.7mJ/molK^2。费米面处的能带色散具有电子型和空穴型和空穴型两种,呈现出一种复杂的费米面结构。LSDA以及LDA+GGA计算表明,LiV2O4有一个磁矩为每个钒原子1.13μB,总能比LDA基态低约148meV/f.u.的铁磁性基态。由目前的能带结构计算的结构无法确定这一类Kondo体系的局域磁矩的来源,表明这一化合物中的重费米子行为可能有别于在含有4f和5f稀土的重费米子合金中观察到的局域磁矩与传导电子的交换作用机制,其中存在量子相变的可能。     

Interplay between chiral magnetic and Kondo effects in Weyl metal phase

We investigate the Kondo effect in a Weyl metal state, which occurs from a spin-orbit coupled Dirac metal phase under magnetic fields. We start from an effective field theory in terms of low-energy fermions on a pair of chiral Fermi surfaces, which takes into account both the Berry curvature and chiral anomaly. Resorting to the U(1) slave-boson mean-field theory, we find that the effective Kondo temperature increases monotonically as a function of the external magnetic field due to enhancement of the density of states. The enhancement is originated from the chiral magnetic effect which is novel feature of Weyl metals. This leads to the prediction of the magnetic-field dependence in the logarithmic temperature dependence of the longitudinal magnetoconductivity.     

Interplay between Fe 3d and Ce 4f magnetism and Kondo interaction in CeFeAs(1-x)P(x)O probed by 75As and 31P NMR

A detailed (31)P (I = 1/2) and (75)As (I = 3/2) NMR study on polycrystalline CeFeAs(1-x)P(x)O alloys is presented. The magnetism of CeFeAsO changes drastically upon P substitution on the As site. CeFePO is a heavy fermion system without long-range order whereas CeFeAsO exhibits an Fe 3d SDW type of ordering accompanied by a structural transition from tetragonal (TT) to orthorhombic (OT) structure. Furthermore, Ce 4f(1) orders antiferromagnetically (AFM) at low temperature. At the critical concentration where the Fe magnetism is diminished the Ce-Ce interaction changes to a ferromagnetic (FM) type of ordering. Three representative samples of the CeFeAs(1-x)P(x)O (x = 0.05, 0.3 and 0.9) series are systematically investigated. (1) For the x = 0.05 alloy a drastic change of the linewidth at 130 K indicates the AFM-SDW type of ordering of Fe and the structural change from the TT to the OT phase. The linewidth roughly measures the internal field in the ordered state and the transition is most likely first order. The small and nearly constant shift from (31)P and (75)As NMR suggests the presence of competing hyperfine interactions between the nuclear spins and the 4f and 3d ions of Ce and Fe. (2) For the x = 0.3 alloy, the evolution of the Fe-SDW type of order takes place at around 70 K corroborating the results of bulk measurement and μSR. Here we found evidence for phase separation of paramagnetic and magnetic SDW phases. (3) In contrast to the heavy fermion CeFePO for the x = 0.9 alloy a phase transition is found at 2 K. The field-dependent NMR shift gives evidence of FM ordering. Above the ordering the spin-lattice relaxation rate (31)(1/T(1)) shows unconventional, non-Korringa-like behaviour which indicates a complex interplay of Kondo and FM fluctuations.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAs_(1-x)P_xO_(1-y)F_y

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides (chalcogenides) not only triggers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d-antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below ～ 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below ～ 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically correlated heavy-fermion (HF) metal with Kondo scale T K ～ 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity (SC). In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsO 1-y F y (y = 0 and 0.05). This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, x c1 0.4 and x c2 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce 3+ moment at x c3 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of x c1 . We continue to investigate CeFeAs 1-x P x O 0.95 F 0.05 . With the separation of x c1 and x c3 , this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0≤ x ≤ 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Electronic structure and magnetic properties of YbCuAl

The electronic band structure of YbCuAl has been calculated using the self-consistent full potential nonorthogonal local orbital minimum basis scheme based on the density functional theory. We investigated the electronic structure with the spin–orbit interaction and on-site Coulomb potential for the Yb-derived 4f orbitals to obtain the correct ground state of YbCuAl. The exchange interaction between local f electrons and conduction electrons play an important role in the heavy fermion characters of them. The fully relativistic band structure scheme shows that spin–orbit coupling splits the 4f states into two manifolds, the 4f_7/2 and the 4f_5/2 multiplet.     

Non-Fermi-liquid effects in stoichiometric 4f-electron metals at ambient pressure

We discuss strong deviations from the signatures of a heavy Landau–Fermi liquid already at p=0 that are observed for normal (n)-state CeCu₂Si₂, for CeNi₂Ge₂ and YbRh₂Si₂. No quantum critical point could yet be established in the case of CeNi₂Ge₂. For this compound, preliminary investigations of the chemical phase diagram have revealed certain similarities to CeCu₂Si₂. The non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) effects observed for YbRh₂Si₂ suggest a quasi-2D system of magnetic fluctuations. We also discuss briefly disparities between resistivity and specific-heat results in all three compounds as well as the relationship between a NFL n-state and the occurrence of heavy-fermion superconductivity.     

Structural properties, magnetic order and electronic transport in single crystalline UPt2Si2

We present a detailed comparison of the physical properties of as-cast and annealed single crystalline UPt₂Si₂, a compound whose properties we have shown to be governed by strain disorder on the Pt/Si ligand sites. Contrary to common knowledge, and to our surprise, from our data we do not observe a significant improvement of the physical properties of UPt₂Si₂ upon annealing at 900 °C for one week. We attribute this to the specific way the strain disorder is produced in UPt₂Si₂ by presenting evidence that it results from a first order phase transition at ambient temperatures. We discuss the implications of such phase transitions occurring at comparatively low temperatures for the ground state properties of heavy fermion systems and related correlated electron materials.     

3d系列 (TM)4 团簇的结构和磁性

基于第一性原理，在密度泛函理论下，用局域自旋密度近似(LSDA)和广义梯度近似(GGA)对(TM)₄团簇的所有几何构型进行优化、能量、频率和磁性计算.确定出3d系列(TM)₄团簇的基态构型，对其磁性、结合能和平均原子间距作了系统的研究，得出在3d系列(TM)₄团簇中，Mn₄的局域磁矩最大，V₄的局域磁矩最小，并且除Cr₄在LSDA和GGA均为反铁磁性耦合及GGA下的V_{关键词： 4}团簇')" href="#">(TM)₄团簇 基态构型 结合能 局域磁矩 平均原子间距     

Interplay of spin-allowed and spin-forbidden 5d–4f luminescence from rare earth ions

The conditions for co-existence of emissions from spin-allowed and spin-forbidden 5d–4f transitions in rare earth ions and for thermal quenching of these emissions have been analyzed by taking Tm³⁺ 5d–4f luminescence in LiYF₄:Tm³⁺ and Lu³⁺ 5d–4f luminescence in LuF₃ as examples. It is shown that temperature behavior of 5d–4f luminescence agrees with the common trends in decreasing energy splitting between the lowest high-spin and low-spin 5d levels as well as decreasing energy gap between the lowest 5d level and the bottom of the conduction band of the host crystal towards heavier rare earth ions (from Er³⁺ to Lu³⁺).     

Structural differences between single crystal and polycrystalline UBe13

We report on observations of structural and chemical differences between samples of UBe₁₃ that were synthesised using two different methods. Unexplained discrepancies in properties between samples with differing synthesis had previously been found in this heavy fermion superconductor. A polycrystalline UBe₁₃ sample was made by arc-melting the constituents. Single crystals were grown using an aluminium flux and had a consistently slightly larger lattice parameter than the polycrystals, which merited further study. Neutron diffraction data were collected at the Lujan Center at LANSCE on the HIPPO diffractometer. Aluminium was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the flux-grown single crystal (0.803 wt%), and small amounts (~0.2 wt%) of thorium were detected in the UBe₁₃ polycrystalline sample. In order to probe the implications of the presence of Al, calculations by spin-polarised DFT-GGA+U show that the incorporation of Al onto the 96i site (the lowest symmetry site in the structure) is energetically more favourable than on other sites. In general, the trends calculated by DFT for bond lengths and lattice parameter increases are consistent with bond lengths experimentally observed by neutron diffraction, but specific percentage changes with aluminium incorporation may be obscured by the unexpected thorium in the polycrystalline sample. The aggregate of our initial observations suggests that incorporation of aluminium from the flux into single crystal UBe₁₃ is significant.     

Interplay between structure and magnetism in Mo12S9I9 nanowires

We investigate the equilibrium geometry and electronic structure of Mo12S9I9 nanowires using ab initio density functional calculations. The skeleton of these unusually stable nanowires consists of rigid, functionalized Mo octahedra, connected by flexible, bistable sulfur bridges. This structural flexibility translates into a capability to stretch up to approximately 20% at almost no energy cost. The nanowires change from conductors to narrow-gap magnetic semiconductors in one of their structural isomers.     

Critical Kondo destruction and the violation of the quantum-to-classical mapping of quantum criticality

Antiferromagnetic heavy fermion metals close to their quantum critical points display a richness in their physical properties unanticipated by the traditional approach to quantum criticality, which describes the critical properties solely in terms of fluctuations of the order parameter. This has led to the question as to how the Kondo effect gets destroyed as the system undergoes a phase change. In one approach to the problem, Kondo lattice systems are studied through a self-consistent Bose-Fermi Kondo model within the extended dynamical mean field theory. The quantum phase transition of the Kondo lattice is thus mapped onto that of a sub-Ohmic Bose-Fermi Kondo model. In the present article we address some aspects of the failure of the standard order-parameter functional for the Kondo-destroying quantum critical point of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model.     

Superconducting gap anomaly in heavy fermion systems

The heavy fermion system (HFS) is described by the periodic Anderson model (PAM), treating the Coulomb correlation between the f-electrons in the meanfield Hartree-Fock approximation. Superconductivity is introduced by a BCS-type pairing term among the conduction electrons. Within this approximation the equation for the superconducting gap is derived, which depends on the effective position of the energy level of the f-electrons relative to the Fermi level. The latter in turn depends on the occupation probability n ^f of the f-electrons. The gap equation is solved self-consistently with the equation for n ^f; and their temperature dependences are studied for different positions of the bare f-electron energy level, with respect to the Fermi level. The dependence of the superconducting gap on the hybridization leads to a re-entrant behaviour with increasing strength. The induced pairing between the f-electrons and the pairing of mixed conduction and f-electrons due to hybridization are also determined. The temperature dependence of the hybridization parameter, which characterizes the number of electrons with mixed character and represents the number of heavy electrons is studied. This number is shown to be small. The quasi-particle density of states (DOS) shows the existence of a pseudo-gap due to superconductivity and the signature of a hybridization gap at the Fermi level. For the choice of the model parameters, the DOS shows that the HFS is a metal and undergoes a transition to the gap-less superconducting state.      

Exotic superconducting state embedded in the hidden order state of URu2Si2

The heavy-fermion compound URu₂Si₂ has mystified researchers since the superconducting state (T_c = 1.45 K) is embedded within the enigmatic ‘‘hidden order” phase (T_h = 17.5 K). Here, we report charge and thermal transport measurements on ultraclean single crystals of URu₂Si₂ with very large residual-resistivity-ratio down to 30 m K (∼T_c/50), which reveal a number of unprecedented superconducting properties. The results provide strong evidence for a new type of unconventional superconductivity with two distinct gaps having different nodal topology. We propose a gap function with chiral d-wave form Δ(k) = Δ₀k_z(k_x + ik_y). We also demonstrate that a distinct flux line lattice melting transition with outstanding characters occurs well below the upper critical fields even at sub-Kelvin temperature. The intriguing superconducting state of URu₂Si₂ adds a unique and exciting example to the list of unconventional superconductors.