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Title: Pressure-tuned quantum criticality in the antiferromagnetic Kondo semimetal CeNi2–δAs2

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China)
  3. Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (South Korea)

The easily tuned balance among competing interactions in Kondo-lattice metals allows access to a zero-temperature, continuous transition between magnetically ordered and disordered phases, a quantum-critical point (QCP). Indeed, these highly correlated electron materials are prototypes for discovering and exploring quantum-critical states. Theoretical models proposed to account for the strange thermodynamic and electrical transport properties that emerge around the QCP of a Kondo lattice assume the presence of an indefinitely large number of itinerant charge carriers. Here, we report a systematic transport and thermodynamic investigation of the Kondo-lattice system CeNi2–δAs2 (δ ≈ 0.28) as its antiferromagnetic order is tuned by pressure and magnetic field to zero-temperature boundaries. These experiments show that the very small but finite carrier density of ~0.032 e/formular unit in CeNi2–δAs2 leads to unexpected transport signatures of quantum criticality and the delayed development of a fully coherent Kondo-lattice state with decreasing temperature. Here, the small carrier density and associated semimetallicity of this Kondo-lattice material favor an unconventional, local-moment type of quantum criticality and raises the specter of the Nozières exhaustion idea that an insufficient number of conduction-electron spins to separately screen local moments requires collective Kondo screening.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1246337
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-14-26358
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 112, Issue 44; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 32 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

PrBi: Topology meets quadrupolar degrees of freedom journal February 2020
Heavy fermion quantum criticality at dilute carrier limit in CeNi2−δ(As1−xPx)2 journal August 2019
Clamp cell with in situ pressure monitoring for low-temperature neutron scattering measurements journal August 2018
Unconventional and conventional quantum criticalities in CeRh0.58Ir0.42In5 journal February 2018
Synthesis and physical properties of CeRu 2 As 2 and CeIr 2 As 2 journal November 2019
Weyl–Kondo semimetal in heavy-fermion systems journal December 2017
Unconventional and conventional quantum criticalities in CeRh$_{0.58}$Ir$_{0.42}$In$_5$ text January 2016
Kondo Insulator to Semimetal Transformation Tuned by Spin-Orbit Coupling text January 2016
Clamp cell with $in$ $situ$ pressure monitoring for low-temperature neutron scattering measurements text January 2019
PrBi: Topology meets quadrupolar degrees of freedom text January 2019
Weyl-Kondo Semimetal in Heavy Fermion Systems text January 2016