The role of f -electrons in the Fermi surface of the heavy fermion superconductor beta-YbAlB4

TL;DR

This study investigates the Fermi surface of the heavy fermion superconductor beta-YbAlB4 using quantum oscillations, revealing that f-electrons participate in the Fermi surface even at high magnetic fields, impacting its unconventional superconductivity.

Contribution

It provides detailed experimental evidence that f-electrons remain involved in the Fermi surface of beta-YbAlB4 at high fields, challenging previous assumptions about their localization.

Findings

f-electrons participate in the Fermi surface up to 45 Tesla

Quantum oscillation data aligns with band structure calculations

Implications for understanding unconventional superconductivity

Abstract

We present a detailed quantum oscillation study of the Fermi surface of the recently discovered Yb-based heavy fermion superconductor beta-YbAlB4 . We compare the data, obtained at fields from 10 to 45 Tesla, to band structure calculations performed using the local density approximation. Analysis of the data suggests that f-holes participate in the Fermi surface up to the highest magnetic fields studied. We comment on the significance of these findings for the unconventional superconducting properties of this material.