Nernst Effect as a Probe of Local Kondo Scattering in Heavy Fermions

Abstract

A large, strongly temperature-dependent Nernst coefficient, $\nu$, is observed between $T$ = 2 K and 300 K for CeCu${}_2$Si${}_2$ and Ce${}_{0.8}$La${}_{0.2}$Cu${}_2$Si${}_2$. The enhanced $\nu (T)$ is determined by the asymmetry of the on-site Kondo (conduction electron$-4f$ electron) scattering rate. Taking into account the measured Hall mobility, ${\mu }_H$, the highly unusual thermopower, $S$, of these systems can be semiquantitatively described by $S(T)$ $=$ $-$$\nu (T)/{\mu }_H(T)$, which explicitly demonstrates that the thermopower originates from the local Kondo scattering process over a wide temperature range from far above to well below the coherence temperature ($\approx$ 20 K for CeCu${}_2$Si${}_2$). Our results suggest that the Nernst effect can act as a proper probe of local charge-carrier scattering. This promises an impact on exploring the unconventional enhancement of the thermopower in correlated materials suited for potential applications.

10 pages, 2 Figures

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• On the thermoelectricity of correlated electrons in the zero-temperature limit
• Mott Relation for Anomalous Hall and Nernst effects in Ga1-xMnxAs Ferromagnetic Semiconductors
• Magnetically driven superconductivity in CeCu2Si2
• The Nernst effect and the boundaries of the Fermi liquid picture
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