Ferromagnetic Quantum Critical Point in the Heavy-Fermion Metal YbNi4(P1−xAsx)2

• Autores: Alexander Steppke, Robert Küchler, Stefan Lausberg
• Localización: Science, ISSN 0036-8075, Vol. 339, Nº 6122, 2013, págs. 933-936
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Unconventional superconductivity and other previously unknown phases of matter exist in the vicinity of a quantum critical point (QCP): a continuous phase change of matter at absolute zero. Intensive theoretical and experimental investigations on itinerant systems have shown that metallic ferromagnets tend to develop via either a first-order phase transition or through the formation of intermediate superconducting or inhomogeneous magnetic phases. Here, through precision low-temperature measurements, we show that the Grüneisen ratio of the heavy fermion metallic ferromagnet YbNi4(P0.92As0.08)2 diverges upon cooling to T = 0, indicating a ferromagnetic QCP. Our observation that this kind of instability, which is forbidden in d-electron metals, occurs in a heavy fermion system will have a large impact on the studies of quantum critical materials.