Orbital-selective mott transitions: Heavy fermions and beyond

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Quantum phase transitions in metals are often accompanied by violations of Fermi liquid behavior in the quantum critical regime. Particularly fascinating are transitions beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson concept of a local order parameter. The breakdown of the Kondo effect in heavy-fermion metals constitutes a prime example of such a transition. Here, the strongly correlated f electrons become localized and disappear from the Fermi surface, implying that the transition is equivalent to an orbital-selective Mott transition, as has been discussed for multi-band transition-metal oxides. In this article, available theoretical descriptions for orbital-selective Mott transitions will be reviewed, with an emphasis on conceptual aspects like the distinction between different low-temperature phases and the structure of the global phase diagram. Selected results for quantum critical properties will be listed as well. Finally, a brief overview is given on experiments which have been interpreted in terms of orbital-selective Mott physics.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)203-232
Number of pages30
JournalJournal of low temperature physics
Volume161
Issue number1-2
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2010
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Heavy fermions, Mott transition, Quantum criticality