Thermoelectrics of a two-channel charge Kondo circuit: Role of electron-electron interactions in a quantum point contact

TL;DR

This paper explores how electron-electron interactions influence the quantum impurity physics in a two-channel charge Kondo circuit, revealing a transition from non-Fermi liquid to Fermi liquid behavior driven by many-body effects.

Contribution

It demonstrates that interactions creating a massive spin mode steer the system from NFL to FL fixed points in a charge Kondo circuit.

Findings

Interactions induce a transition from NFL to FL behavior.

Thermoelectric response characterizes the NFL-FL crossover.

Massive spin mode formation is key to the transition.

Abstract

In this Letter we investigate the properties of a quantum impurity model in the presence of additional many-body interactions between mobile carriers. The fundamental question which is addressed here is how the interactions in the charge and spin sectors of an itinerant system affect the quantum impurity physics in the vicinity of the intermediate coupling fixed point. To illustrate the general answer to this question we discuss a two-channel charge Kondo circuit model. We show that the electron-electron interactions resulting in the formation of a massive spin mode in an itinerant electron subset drive the system away from the unstable non-Fermi liquid (NFL) fixed point to the stable Fermi liquid (FL) regime. We discuss the thermoelectric response as a benchmark for the NFL-FL crossover.