Kondo screening in a Majorana metal

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • S. Lee - , Institute for Basic Science (Autor:in)
  • Y. S. Choi - , Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) (Autor:in)
  • S. H. Do - , Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Autor:in)
  • W. Lee - , Institute for Basic Science (Autor:in)
  • C. H. Lee - , Chung-Ang University (Autor:in)
  • M. Lee - , National High Magnetic Field Laboratory Los Almos (Autor:in)
  • M. Vojta - , Exzellenzcluster ct.qmat: Komplexität und Topologie in Quantenmaterialien, Professur für Theoretische Festkörperphysik (Autor:in)
  • C. N. Wang - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Autor:in)
  • H. Luetkens - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Autor:in)
  • Z. Guguchia - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Autor:in)
  • K. Y. Choi - , Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) (Autor:in)

Abstract

Kondo impurities provide a nontrivial probe to unravel the character of the excitations of a quantum spin liquid. In the S = 1/2 Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice, Kondo impurities embedded in the spin-liquid host can be screened by itinerant Majorana fermions via gauge-flux binding. Here, we report experimental signatures of metallic-like Kondo screening at intermediate temperatures in the Kitaev honeycomb material α-RuCl3 with dilute Cr3+ (S = 3/2) impurities. The static magnetic susceptibility, the muon Knight shift, and the muon spin-relaxation rate all feature logarithmic divergences, a hallmark of a metallic Kondo effect. Concurrently, the linear coefficient of the magnetic specific heat is large in the same temperature regime, indicating the presence of a host Majorana metal. This observation opens new avenues for exploring uncharted Kondo physics in insulating quantum magnets.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer7405
Seitenumfang8
FachzeitschriftNature communications
Jahrgang14 (2023)
Ausgabenummer1
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 16 Nov. 2023
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMed 37974022