Fractionalized Fermi liquid on the surface of a topological Kondo insulator

TL;DR

This paper proposes that topological Kondo insulators can host a surface state called fractionalized Fermi liquid, where local moments form spin liquids coexisting with conduction electron states, revealing intrinsic topological order.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model showing how surface fractionalized Fermi liquids can emerge in topological Kondo insulators due to weakened hybridization near the surface.

Findings

Mean-field solutions demonstrate surface fractionalized Fermi liquids.

Surface spin liquids coexist with conduction electron states.

The model suggests intrinsic topological order on the surface.

Abstract

We argue that topological Kondo insulators can also have 'intrinsic' topological order associated with fractionalized excitations on their surfaces. The hydridization between the local moments and conduction electrons can weaken near the surface, and this enables the local moments to form spin liquids. This co-exists with the conduction electron surface states, realizing a surface fractionalized Fermi liquid. We present mean-field solutions of a Kondo-Heisenberg model which display such surfaces.