Isoelectronic tuning of heavy fermion systems: Proposal to synthesize Ce3Sb4Pd3

Abstract

The study of (quantum) phase transitions in heavy-fermion compounds relies on a detailed understanding of the microscopic control parameters that induce them. While the influence of external pressure is rather straight forward, atomic substitutions are more involved. Nonetheless, replacing an elemental constituent of a compound with an isovalent atom is---effects of disorder aside---often viewed as merely affecting the lattice constant. Based on this picture of chemical pressure, the unit-cell volume is identified as an empirical proxy for the Kondo coupling. Here instead, we propose an "orbital scenario" in which the coupling in complex systems can be tuned by isoelectronic substitutions with little or no effect onto cohesive properties. Starting with the Kondo insulator Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Pt${}_3$, we consider---within band-theory---isoelectronic substitutions of the pnictogen (Bi$\to$Sb) and/or the precious metal (Pt$\to$Pd). We show for the isovolume series Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$(Pt${}_{1-x}$Pd${}_x$)${}_3$ that the Kondo coupling is in fact substantially modified by the different radial extent of the $5d$ (Pt) and $4d$ (Pd) orbitals, while spin-orbit coupling mediated changes are minute. Combining experimental Kondo temperatures with simulated hybridization functions, we also predict effective masses $m^{\ast }$, finding excellent agreement with many-body results for Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Pt${}_3$. Our analysis motivates studying the so-far unknown Kondo insulator Ce${}_3$Sb${}_4$Pd${}_3$, for which we predict $m^{\ast }/m_{band}=\mathcal{O}(10)$.

11 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Quantum Criticality in Heavy Fermion Metals
• Rare-Earth vs. Heavy Metal Pigments and their Colors from First Principles
• Realistic many-body models for Manganese Monoxide under pressure
• Effective Coulomb interactions in solids under pressure
• Magnetic field-tuned quantum criticality in a Kondo insulator
• Combining electronic structure and many-body theory with large data-bases: a method for predicting the nature of 4f states in Ce compounds
• Quantitative study of valence and configuration interaction parameters of the Kondo semiconductors CeM2Al10 (M = Ru, Os and Fe) by means of bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• Pressure-Driven Valence Increase and Metallization in Kondo Insulator Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Pt${}_3$

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Flat bands, strange metals, and the Kondo effect
• Resistivity saturation in Kondo insulators
• Tuning the topological character of half-Heusler systems: A comparative study on Y$T$Bi ($T$ = Pd, Pt)
• Anisotropy of electronic correlations: On the applicability of local theories to layered materials
• Zoology of spin and orbital fluctuations in ultrathin oxide films
• Localized f-electron magnetism in the semimetal Ce3Bi4Au3
• Magnetism between magnetic adatoms on monolayer NbSe${}_2$
• Ground state of Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Pd${}_3$ unraveled by hydrostatic pressure
• Pressure-induced concomitant topological and metal-insulator quantum phase transitions in Ce${}_3$Pd${}_3$Bi${}_4$
• Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Ni${}_3$ $-$ A large hybridization-gap variant of Ce${}_3$Bi${}_4$Pt${}_3$