Heavy fermion material: Ce versus Yb case

TL;DR

This paper reviews heavy fermion materials, focusing on Ce and Yb compounds, highlighting their complex quantum critical behaviors, interplay of magnetic and valence instabilities, and recent experimental progress revealing unconventional phenomena.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of Ce and Yb heavy fermion systems, emphasizing recent experimental advances and the potential for discovering new quantum critical phenomena.

Findings

Ce materials exhibit unconventional superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid behavior near criticality.

Recent progress in Yb compounds shows interplay between valence and magnetic fluctuations.

Potential for valence transitions within a single crystal field ground state in Yb systems.

Abstract

Heavy fermion compounds are complex systems but excellent materials to study quantum criticality with the switch of different ground states. Here a special attention is given on the interplay between magnetic and valence instabilities which can be crossed or approached by tuning the system by pressure or magnetic field. By contrast to conventional rare earth magnetism or classical s wave superconductivity, strong couplings may occur with drastic changes in spin or charge dynamics. Measurements on Ce materials give already a sound basis with clear key factors; they have pointed out that close to a magnetic or a valence criticality unexpected phenomena such as unconventional superconductivity, non Fermi liquid behaviour and the possibility of re-entrance phenomena under magnetic field. Recent progresses in the growth of Yb heavy fermion compounds give the perspectives of clear interplays between valence and magnetic fluctuations and also the possibility to enter in new situations such as valence transitions inside a sole doublet crystal field ground state.