arXiv subjects

Stefan Kirchner

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Kirchner.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Universal out-of-equilibrium Transport in Kondo-correlated quantum dots: Renormalized dual Fermions on the Keldysh contour

The nonlinear conductance of semiconductor heterostructures and single molecule devices exhibiting Kondo physics has recently attracted attention. We address the observed sample dependence of the measured steady state transport coefficients by considering additional electronic contributions in the effective low-energy model underlying these experiments that are absent in particle-hole symmetric setups. A novel version of the superperturbation theory of Hafermann et al. in terms of dual fermions is developed, which correctly captures the low-temperature behavior. We compare our results with the measured transport coefficients.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Competing phases of the Hubbard model on a triangular lattice -- insights from the entropy

Based on the ladder dual-fermion approach, we present a comprehensive study of the phases of the isotropic Hubbard model on the triangular lattice. We find a rich phase diagram containing most of the phases that have already been experimentally observed in systems where the interplay between geometric frustration and electronic correlations is important: paramagnetic metal, paramagnetic insulator, Mott-insulator with $120^{\circ}$ antiferromagnetic and a non-magnetic insulating state, i.e. possibly a spin liquid state. This establishes that the Hubbard model on frustrated lattices can serve as a minimal model to address the intricate interplay of frustration and correlation. We also show that entropic considerations can be successfully used for understanding many striking features of the triangular systems, such as the large thermopower found in Na$_{x}$CoO$_{2}\cdot$$y$H$_{2}$O.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Kondo destruction and valence fluctuations in an Anderson model

Unconventional quantum criticality in heavy-fermion systems has been extensively analyzed in terms of a critical destruction of the Kondo effect. Motivated by a recent demonstration of quantum criticality in a mixed-valent heavy-fermion system, β-YbAlB4, we study a particle-hole-asymmetric Anderson impurity model with a pseudogapped density of states. We demonstrate Kondo destruction at a mixed-valent quantum critical point, where a collapsing Kondo energy scale is accompanied by a singular charge-fluctuation spectrum. Both spin and charge responses scale with energy over temperature (ω/T) and magnetic field over temperature (H/T). Implications for unconventional quantum criticality in mixed-valence heavy fermions are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Superconductivity in Ce- and U-based "122" heavy-fermion compounds

This review discusses the heavy-fermion superconductivity in Ce- and U-based compounds crystallizing in the body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure. Special attention will be paid to the theoretical background of these systems which are located close to a magnetic instability.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Quantum criticality of the sub-ohmic spin-boson model

We revisit the critical behavior of the sub-ohmic spin-boson model. Analysis of both the leading and subleading terms in the temperature dependence of the inverse static local spin susceptibility at the quantum critical point, calculated using a numerical renormalization-group method, provides evidence that the quantum critical point is interacting in cases where the quantum-to-classical mapping would predict mean-field behavior. The subleading term is shown to be consistent with an w/T scaling of the local dynamical susceptibility, as is the leading term. The frequency and temperature dependences of the local spin susceptibility in the strong-coupling (delocalized) regime are also presented. We attribute the violation of the quantum-to-classical mapping to a Berry-phase term in a continuum path-integral representation of the model. This effect connects the behavior discussed here with its counterparts in models with continuous spin symmetry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Critical Kondo destruction in a pseudogap Anderson model: scaling and relaxational dynamics

We study the pseudogap Anderson model as a prototype system for critical Kondo destruction. We obtain finite-temperature (T) scaling functions near its quantum critical point, using a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo method and also considering a dynamical large-N limit. We are able to determine the behavior of the scaling functions in the typically-difficult-to-access quantum-relaxational regime (hbar w < k_B T), and conclude that the relaxation rates for both the spin and single-particle excitations are linear in temperature. We discuss the implications of these results for the quantum critical phenomena in heavy fermion metals.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Nature of the antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition on the honeycomb lattice

We address the nature of the antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition that separates a semimetal from an antiferromagnet in the repulsive Hubbard model defined on the honeycomb lattice. At the critical point, the fermions acquire an anomalous dimension $η$ due to their strong coupling to the fluctuations of the order parameter $ϕ$. The finite $η$ in turn induces a singular $ϕ^{4}$ term and a non-analytical spin susceptibility signaling the breakdown of Hertz's $ϕ^{4}$ theory. As a result, the continuous antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition is internally unstable and turns into a first order transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Continuous-Time Monte Carlo study of the pseudogap Bose-Fermi Kondo model

We study the pseudogap Bose-Fermi Anderson model with a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo (CT-QMC) method. We discuss some delicate aspects of the transformation from this model to the Bose-Fermi Kondo model. We show that the CT-QMC method can be used at sufficiently low temperatures to access the quantum critical properties of these models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Discontinuous Hall coefficient at the quantum critical point in YbRh2Si2

YbRh2Si2 is a model system for quantum criticality. Particularly, Hall effect measurements helped identify the unconventional nature of its quantum critical point. Here, we present a high-resolution study of the Hall effect and magnetoresistivity on samples of different quality. We find a robust crossover on top of a sample dependent linear background contribution. Our detailed analysis provides a complete characterization of the crossover in terms of its position, width, and height. Importantly, we find in the extrapolation to zero temperature a discontinuity of the Hall coefficient occurring at the quantum critical point for all samples. Particularly, the height of the jump in the Hall coefficient remains finite in the limit of zero temperature. Hence, our data solidify the conclusion of a collapsing Fermi surface. Finally, we contrast our results to the smooth Hall-effect evolution seen in Chromium, the prototype system for a spin-density-wave quantum critical point.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Fermi-surface collapse and dynamical scaling near a quantum critical point

Quantum criticality arises when a macroscopic phase of matter undergoes a continuous transformation at zero temperature. While the collective fluctuations at quantum-critical points are being increasingly recognized as playing an important role in a wide range of quantum materials, the nature of the underlying quantum-critical excitations remains poorly understood. Here we report in-depth measurements of the Hall effect in the heavy-fermion metal YbRh2Si2, a prototypical system for quantum criticality. We isolate a rapid crossover of the isothermal Hall coefficient clearly connected to the quantum-critical point from a smooth background contribution; the latter exists away from the quantum-critical point and is detectable through our studies only over a wide range of magnetic field. Importantly, the width of the critical crossover is proportional to temperature, which violates the predictions of conventional theory and is instead consistent with an energy over temperature, E/T, scaling of the quantum-critical single-electron fluctuation spectrum. Our results provide evidence that the quantum-dynamical scaling and a critical Kondo breakdown simultaneously operate in the same material. Correspondingly, we infer that macroscopic scale-invariant fluctuations emerge from the microscopic many-body excitations associated with a collapsing Fermi-surface. This insight is expected to be relevant to the unconventional finite-temperature behavior in a broad range of strongly correlated quantum systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Spin Path Integrals, Berry phase, and the Quantum Phase Transition in the sub-Ohmic Spin-boson Model

The quantum critical properties of the sub-Ohmic spin-1/2 spin-boson model and of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model have recently been discussed controversially. The role of the Berry phase in the breakdown of the quantum-to-classical mapping of quantum criticality in the spin-isotropic Bose-Fermi Kondo model has been discussed previously. In the present article, some of the subtleties underlying the functional integral representation of the spin-boson and related models with spin anisotropy are discussed. To this end, an introduction to spin coherent states and spin path integrals is presented with a focus on the spin-boson model. It is shown that, even for the Ising-anisotropic case as in the spin-boson model, the path integral in the continuum limit in the coherent state representation involves a Berry phase term. As a result, the effective action for the spin degrees of freedom does not assume the form of a Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson functional. The implications of the Berry-phase term for the quantum-critical behavior of the spin-boson model are discussed. The case of arbitrary spin is also considered.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

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 the Kondo-destroying quantum critical point of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Quantum Criticality out of Equilibrium: Steady State in a Magnetic Single-Electron Transistor

Quantum critical systems out of equilibrium are of extensive interest, but are difficult to study theoretically. We consider here the steady state limit of a single electron transistor, which is attached to ferromagnetic leads and subjected to a finite bias voltage (V). In equilibrium (i.e., V=0), this system undergoes a continuous quantum phase transition with a critical destruction of the Kondo effect. We construct an exact quantum Boltzmann treatment in a dynamical large-N limit, and determine the universal scaling functions for the I-V characteristics covering both the linear and non-linear regimes. We also elucidate the scaling properties of both the fluctuation-dissipation ratios and the decoherence properties as encoded in the local spin response.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

On the concept of effective temperature in current carrying quantum critical states

Quantum criticality has attracted considerable attention both theoretically and experimentally as a way to describe part of the phase diagram of strongly correlated systems. A scale-invariant fluctuation spectrum at a quantum critical point implies the absence of any intrinsic scale. Any experimental probe may therefore create an out-of-equilibrium setting; the system would be in a non-linear response regime, which violates the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Here, we study this violation and related out-of equilibrium phenomena in a single electron transistor with ferromagnetic leads, which can be tuned through a quantum phase transition. We review the breakdown of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and study the universal behavior of the fluctuation dissipation relation of various correlators in the quantum critical regime. In particular, we explore the concept of effective temperature as a means to extend the fluctuation-dissipation theorem into the non-linear regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Finite Size Scaling of Classical Long-Ranged Ising Chains and the Criticality of Dissipative Quantum Impurity Models

Motivated in part by quantum criticality in dissipative Kondo systems, we revisit the finite-size scaling of a classical Ising chain with 1/r^{2-epsilon} interactions. For 1/2<epsilon<1, the scaling of the dynamical spin susceptibility is sensitive to the degree of "winding" of the interaction under periodic boundary conditions. Infinite winding yields the expected mean-field behavior, whereas without any winding the scaling is of an interacting omega/T form. The contrast with the behavior of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model suggests a breakdown of a mapping from the quantum model to a classical one due to the smearing of the Kondo spin flips by the continuum limit taken in this mapping.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Berry Phase and the Breakdown of the Quantum to Classical Mapping for the Quantum Critical Point of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model

The phase diagram of the Bose-Fermi Kondo model contains an SU(2)-invariant Kondo-screened phase separated by a continuous quantum phase transition from a Kondo-destroyed local moment phase. We analyze the effect of the Berry phase term of the spin path integral on the quantum critical properties of this quantum impurity model. For a range of the power-law exponent characterizing the spectral density of the dissipative bosonic bath, neglecting the influence of the Berry phase term makes the fixed point Gaussian. For the same range of the spectral density exponent, incorporating the Berry phase term leads instead to an interacting fixed point, for which a quantum to classical mapping breaks down. Some general implications of our results are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Scaling and Enhanced Symmetry at the Quantum Critical Point of the Sub-Ohmic Bose-Fermi Kondo Model

We consider the finite temperature scaling properties of a Kondo-destroying quantum critical point in the Ising-anisotropic Bose-Fermi Kondo model (BFKM). A cluster-updating Monte Carlo approach is used, in order to reliably access a wide temperature range. The scaling function for the two-point spin correlator is found to have the form dictated by a boundary conformal field theory, even though the underlying Hamiltonian lacks conformal invariance. Similar conclusions are reached for all multi-point correlators of the spin-isotropic BFKM in a dynamical large-N limit. Our results suggest that the quantum critical local properties of the sub-ohmic BFKM are those of an underlying boundary conformal field theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Zero-Temperature Magnetic Transition in an Easy-Axis Kondo Lattice Model

We address the quantum transition of a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice model with an easy-axis anisotropy using the extended dynamical mean field theory. We derive results in real frequency using the bosonic numerical renormalization group (bNRG) method and compare them with Quantum Monte Carlo results in Matsubara frequency. The bNRG results show a logarithmic divergence in the critical local spin susceptibility, signaling a destruction of Kondo screening. The T=0 transition is consistent with being second order. The bNRG results also display some subtle features; we identify their origin and suggest means for further microscopic studies.

cond-mat.str-el↗