Correlated electron effects in low energy Sr(+) ion scattering

Resonant charge transfer during low energy ion scattering reveals correlated-electron behavior at high temperature. The valence electron of a singly charged alkaline-earth ion is a magnetic impurity that interacts with the continuum of many-body excitations in the metal, leading to Kondo and mixed valence resonances near the Fermi energy. The occupation of these resonances is acutely sensitive to the surface temperature, which results in a marked temperature dependence of the ion neutralization. We report such a dependence for low energy Sr(+) scattered from polycrystalline gold.     

Non-Fermi-liquid behavior of compressible electron states on the lowest Landau level

Experiments show that at even denominator fractions (EDF) (7p = 1=2;3=4;3=2,...) the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a strong magnetic field becomes compressible, has no energy gap, and demonstrates the presence of an ostensible Fermi surface (FS). Since this phenomenon results from a minimization of the interaction, rather than the kinetic energy, the EDF states might well exhibit deviations from a conventional Fermi liquid (FL). We show that impurity scattering and its interference with electronelectron and electron-phonon interactions provide examples of intrinsically non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) transport at EDFs.     

Negative resistivity anomaly of unstable 4f impurities in metals

The minimum of the resistivity of dilute alloys with unstable Ce and Pr impurities is usually attributed to an abnormal increase of the spin scattering cross section of the inner 4f electron at low temperatures (4f Kondo effect). By comparison with the resistivity increments of stable rare earth impurities, we show that nearT=0 the anomalous increment is in fact consistent with simple potential scattering from the outer 5d6s valence electrons of fractional valent impurities. The observed decrease of the increment at elevated temperatures is too large to be due to 4f spin scattering in the unitarity limit or to a valence change. This decrease therefore implies some kind of shunting of the impurity potential scattering by an unknown mechanism connected with the valence instability of the impurity.     

Kondo universality,energy scales,and intermediate valence in plutonium

On the basis of the concepts of an intermediate-valence (IV) regime, an analysis is carried out of macroscopic properties of the α and δ phases of plutonium, as well as of several model systems based on rare earth elements. Within a single-site approximation (SSA), the characteristic Kondo interaction energy, the f-electron shell occupation number, the effective degeneracy of the ground-state f multiplet, and the crystal field splitting energy are estimated. The ground state in plutonium is considered as a quantum-mechanical superposition of states with different valences. The temperature dependence of the static magnetic susceptibility of δ plutonium is calculated. It is shown that δ plutonium satisfies the Wilson and Kadowaki-Woods universal relations, whereby it can be classified as a Kondo system. At the same time, the problem of the position of plutonium in the general classification of solids, as well as the problem of the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility of δ plutonium, remains open. The concept of multiple intermediate valence (MIV) is put forward as a possible means for solving the above problems. The MIV regime is characterized by fluctuations from the basic configuration 3+ to the states 4+ and 2+, which make a fundamental difference between plutonium and 4f electron systems based, say, on samarium.     

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the (101) surface of the Kondo insulator CeNiSn

The electronic structure of CeNiSn, which is considered a possible topological Kondo insulator, has been investigated by employing synchrotron radiation excited angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). We have found that the easy cleavage plane in CeNiSn is (101), for which we have investigated the Fermi surface (FS) and band structures. The measured FS and ARPES for the (101) plane are described well by the calculated FS and band structures, obtained from the DFT calculations. The measured ARPES bands and photon energy map show that the metallic states crossing the Fermi level have the 3D nature, casting a negative suspicion for the existence of the topological surface states of the 2D character in CeNiSn. The Ce 4f Kondo resonance peak is observed in Ce 4d → 4f resonant photoemission spectroscopy, suggesting the importance of the Ce 4f electrons in determining the temperature-dependent topological electronic structure of CeNiSn.     

Kondo screening in gapless magnetic alloys

The low-energy physics of a spin- Kondo impurity in a gapless host, in which the density of band states ρ₀(ε)=|ε|^r/(|ε|^r+β^r) vanishes at the Fermi level ε=0, is studied by the Bethe ansatz. It is shown that the growth of the parameter Γ_r=βg^−1/r (where g is an exchange coupling constant) drives the ground state of the system from the Kondo regime with a screened impurity spin to the Anderson regime, where the impurity spin is unscreened. However, in a weak magnetic field H, the impurity spin exceeds its free value, , due to a strong coupling to a band.     

UV-photoemission measurements on erbium and samarium

Photoemission measurements have been made on samarium and erbium in the photon energy range 4 to 21 eV. The photoelectron energy distributions are dominated by electron emission from valence band states whereas emission from 4f-states is unimportant. The width and energy of the occupied and unoccupied 5d-bands has been determined as well as the energy relative to the Fermi level of the bottom of the valence band. A model for the unscattered yield is presented allowing a determination of the hot electron scattering length for some rare-earths using available optical and photoemission data.     

Mixed valence as a polaronic effect

A theory of intermediate valence, based on a reformulation of the adiabatic approximation which treats the electron-phonon interaction nonperturbatively, is presented. Without assuming a specific model we show that a narrow quasi-degenerate f-band above the Fermi level becomes unstable. Due to electron-phonon coupling it collapses giving rise to mixed valent configurations, depending on the location of the f-level relative to the Fermi sea. Phenomenological implications are illustrated by a simple model.     

钴原子及其团簇在Rh(111)和Pd(111)表面的扫描隧道显微学研究

利用扫描隧道显微镜和扫描隧道谱(STM/STS)及单原子操纵,系统研究了单个钴原子(Co) 及其团簇在Rh (111)和Pd (111)两种表面的吸附和自旋电子输运性质. 发现单个Co原子在Rh (111)上有两种不同的稳定吸附位,分别对应于hcp和fcc空位, 他们的高度明显不同,在针尖的操纵下单个Co原子可以在两种吸附位之间相互转化. 在这两种吸附位的单个Co原子的STS谱的费米面附近都存在很显著的峰形结构, 经分析认为Rh (111)表面单个Co原子处于混价区,因此这一峰结构是d轨道共振 和近藤共振共同作用的结果.对于Rh (111)表面上的Co原子二聚体和三聚体, 其费米面附近没有观测到显著的峰,这可能是由于原子间磁交换相互作用 和原子间轨道杂化引起的体系态密度改变所共同导致.与Rh (111)表面不同, 在Pd (111)表面吸附的单个Co原子则表现出均一的高度.并且对于Pd (111)表面所有 单个Co原子及其二聚体和三聚体,在其STS谱的费米面附近均未探测到显著的电子结构, 表明Co原子吸附于Pd (111)表面具有与Rh (111)表面上不同的原子-衬底相互作用与自旋电子输运性质.     

From mixed valence to the Kondo lattice regime

Many heavy fermion materials are known to cross over from the Kondo lattice regime to the mixed valence regime or vice versa as a function of pressure or doping. We study this crossover theoretically by employing the periodic Anderson model within the framework of the dynamical mean field theory. Changes occurring in the dynamics and transport across this crossover are highlighted. As the valence is decreased (increased) relative to the Kondo lattice regime, the Kondo resonance broadens significantly, while the lower (upper) Hubbard band moves closer to the Fermi level. The resistivity develops a two peak structure in the mixed valence regime: a low temperature coherence peak and a high temperature 'Hubbard band' peak. These two peaks merge, yielding a broad shallow maximum upon decreasing the valence further. The optical conductivity likewise exhibits an unusual absorption feature (shoulder) in the deep mid-infrared region, which grows in intensity with decreasing valence. The involvement of the Hubbard bands in dc transport and of the effective f-level in the optical conductivity are shown to be responsible for the anomalous transport properties. A two-band hybridization-gap model, which neglects incoherent effects due to many-body scattering, commonly employed to understand the optical response in these materials is shown to be inadequate, especially in the mixed valence regime. Comparison of theory with experiment carried out for (a) dc resistivities of CeRhIn(5), Ce(2)Ni(3)Si(5), CeFeGe(3) and YbIr(2)Si(2), (b) pressure dependent resistivity of YbInAu(2) and CeCu(6), and (c) optical conductivity measurements in YbIr(2)Si(2) yields excellent agreement.     

Two Kondo impurities in nanoscopic systems

We study the problem of two Kondo impurities in a small system. Using a slave boson approach we investigate the effect on the electron confinement of the Kondo physics of the two impurity problem. We show that the confinement splits the symmetric and antisymmetric channels and for small systems weakly coupled to a reservoir this gives two well defined behaviors: For the Fermi energy lying at a resonant state, the two impurities are Kondo screened with two characteristic energy scales. For the Fermi energy between two resonances, the inter-impurity interaction destroys the Kondo effect.Received: 2 February 2004, Published online: 28 May 2004PACS: 72.10.Fk Scattering by point defects, dislocations, surfaces, and other imperfections (including Kondo effect) - 72.15.Qm Scattering mechanisms and Kondo effect     

Clusters as Many-Body Resonances

A formalism to evaluate the resonant states produced by two particles moving outside a closed shell core is presented. The two-particle states are calculated by using a single-particle representation consisting of bound states, Gamow resonances and scattering states in the complex energy plane (Berggren representation). Two representative cases are analysed corresponding to whether the Fermi level is below or above the continuum threshold. It is found that long-lived resonances are mostly determined by either bound states or by narrow Gamow resonances. However, they are significantly affected by wide resonances and the continuum background itself.     

Surface electronic structure of SnO2(110)

We report theoretical investigations on the surface electronic structure of the (110)-face of SnO₂, a semiconductor of rutile bulk structure. Starting with a tight binding Hamiltonian for the bulk, we determine the surface electronic structure using the scattering theoretic method. As results we obtain the surface bound states, the surface resonances and the wave-vector resolved surface layer densities of states. The dominant features are two backbond states in the stomach gap of the main valence band and two Sn-s derived states in the lower conduction band region. In the upper valence band region, only weak resonances occur, like in other materials with relatively strong ionicity.     

Universal scaling and a novel quantum critical behavior of CeRhSb1-xSnx

We observe and explain a universal scaling rhochi = const for the electrical resistivity rho with the inverse magnetic susceptibility chi(-1) for the Kondo insulator CeRhSb(1-x)Snx. In the regime where the Kondo gap disappears (x > 0.12), the system forms a non-Fermi liquid (NFL), which transforms into a Fermi liquid at higher temperature. The NFL behavior is associated with the presence of a novel quantum critical point (QCP) at the Kondo insulator-correlated metal boundary. The divergent behavior of the resistivity, the susceptibility, and the specific heat has been observed when approaching the QCP from the metallic side and is interpreted as due to the competition between the Kondo and the intersite magnetic correlations.     

Mapping itinerant electrons around Kondo impurities

We investigate single Fe and Co atoms buried below a Cu(100) surface using low temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy. By mapping the local density of states of the itinerant electrons at the surface, the Kondo resonance near the Fermi energy is analyzed. Probing bulk impurities in this well-defined scattering geometry allows separating the physics of the Kondo system and the measuring process. The line shape of the Kondo signature shows an oscillatory behavior as a function of depth of the impurity as well as a function of lateral distance. The oscillation period along the different directions reveals that the spectral function of the itinerant electrons is anisotropic.     

Scattering from impurities in a crystal

A time independent scattering theory for a particle in a crystal with impurity is given. It is shown that the scattered wave is the solution of a Lippman Schwinger equation, and that the existence of bound states or narrow resonances is related more to the band structure than to the form of the impurity potential.     

One- and two-channel Kondo model with logarithmic Van Hove singularity: A numerical renormalization group solution

Simple scaling consideration and NRG solution of the one- and two-channel Kondo model in the presence of a logarithmic Van Hove singularity at the Fermi level is given. The temperature dependences of local and impurity magnetic susceptibility and impurity entropy are calculated. The low-temperature behavior of the impurity susceptibility and impurity entropy turns out to be non-universal in the Kondo sense and independent of the s–d coupling J. The resonant level model solution in the strong coupling regime confirms the NRG results. In the two-channel case the local susceptibility demonstrates a non-Fermi-liquid power-law behavior.     

First-principles study of ferromagnetism in N doped TiO2 and TiO

N doped TiO is nonmagnetic, in which spin-split impurity states are not induced near the Fermi energy (E_F) by N dopant. N doped TiO₂ along with transition-metal (TM) doped TiO is magnetic, in which spin-split impurity states are induced across E_F. The magnetic moment is determined by the 3d4s electron configurations and the valence states of TM-dopant ions when they substitute Ti. Hence, the origin of ferromagnetism of N doped TiO₂ and TiO is not closely related to the width of the band gaps of host oxides, but would be crucially related to that if the dopant can induce spin-split impurity states near E_F.     

Non-Fermi-liquid effects in tunneling

Non-Fermi-liquid tunneling mechanisms in a quantum structure with its own two-dimensional continuum doped with transition metal impurities are considered. New physical realizations of the two-channel Kondo orbital model with mechanisms different from those previously described in literature occur in such quantum structures. The tunneling transparency is anomalously high owing to new channels generated by multiparticle Fermi-liquid resonances near the edge of the two-dimensional energy band in the process of tunneling. The widths of new edge resonances can be much smaller than the width of the “bare” non-Fermi-liquid resonance at the Fermi level in the banks. The additional scattering due to tunneling induces a transition from the non-Fermi-liquid to the Fermi-liquid state as the separation between the Fermi level in the banks and the two-dimensional band edge in the quantum well varies. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1466–1486 (October 1998)     

Effective 4ƒ energy level in virtual excitation and in photoemission processes in Ce-pnictides

Effects of relaxation of occupied band electrons to the ?-hole state through the hybridization between ? and band states are studied based on a detailed model for Ce-monopnictides. The effective 4? level is shifted about 1–2 eV to shallow energy side from the unrenormalized bare level in processes in which the 4? electron is only virtually excited, such as in excitation to the vacant p band states through the p-? mixing. Photoemission spectra show two peaks, one near the Fermi energy and the other about 3 eV below it. The latter is shifted to deep energy side about 0.5–1 eV from the bare level when it lies near the bottom of the valence band. The discrepancy between the 4? level estimated from the low energy phenomena and that from photoemission is resolved.