Spin relaxation in Kondo lattices

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model explaining the electron spin resonance signals in heavy fermion Kondo lattices, emphasizing collective spin dynamics and the Kondo effect's role in spin relaxation.

Contribution

It introduces a coupled susceptibility model and a scaling approach to describe spin relaxation and ESR in Kondo lattice systems, aligning with experimental observations.

Findings

Collective spin motion of Yb ions with conduction electrons is revealed.

The Kondo effect governs the temperature dependence of kinetic coefficients.

Angular dependence of ESR linewidth matches experimental data.

Abstract

A model of spin relaxation in Kondo lattices is proposed to explain the presence of an electron spin resonance (ESR) signal in the heavy fermion compounds YbRh2Si2 and YbIr2Si2. Coupled equations for dynamical susceptibilities of Kondo ions and conduction electrons are derived by means of the functional derivative method. The perturbational scaling approach reveals the collective spin motion of Yb ions with conduction electrons in the bottleneck regime. A common energy scale due to the Kondo effect regulates the temperature dependence of the different kinetic coefficients and results in a mutual cancelation of all divergent parts in a collective spin mode. The angular dependence of the ESR linewidth is shown to be in a qualitative agreement with experimental data on YbRh2Si2 and YbIr2Si2. Linewidth contributions other than the Kondo interaction are also discussed.