Abstract
A continuous phase transition driven to zero temperature by a non-thermal parameter, such as pressure, terminates in a quantum critical point (QCP). At present, two main theoretical approaches are available for antiferromagnetic QCPs in heavy-fermion systems. The conventional one is the quantum generalization of finite-temperature phase transitions, which reproduces the physical properties in many cases1,2,3,4,5. More recent unconventional models incorporate a breakdown of the Kondo effect, giving rise to a Fermi-surface reconstruction6,7,8— YbRh2Si2 is a prototype of this category5,9,10,11. In YbRh2Si2, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature merges with the Kondo breakdown at the QCP. Here, we study the evolution of the quantum criticality in YbRh2Si2 under chemical pressure. Surprisingly, for positive pressure we find the signature of the Kondo breakdown within the magnetically ordered phase, whereas negative pressure induces their separation, leaving an intermediate spin-liquid-type ground state over an extended range. This behaviour suggests a new quantum phase arising from the interplay of the Kondo breakdown and the antiferromagnetic QCP.
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and TN(H) in the susceptibility.
in magnetoresistance and magnetization.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank P. Coleman and Q. Si for motivating discussions. We acknowledge partial support by the DFG Research Group 960 ‘Quantum Phase Transitions’.
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S.F. set up, carried out and analysed the resistivity measurements. T.W. set up, carried out and analysed the a.c.-susceptibility measurements. M.B. set up, carried out and analysed the magnetization measurements. C.K. and C.G. grew the single crystals for the study. F.S., P.G., S.W. and N.O. planned and headed the project. S.F. wrote the paper with assistance from F.S., N.O, M.B., P.G. and S.W.
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Friedemann, S., Westerkamp, T., Brando, M. et al. Detaching the antiferromagnetic quantum critical point from the Fermi-surface reconstruction in YbRh2Si2. Nature Phys 5, 465–469 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1299
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1299
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