Uniaxial stress effect on the quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$

TL;DR

This study investigates how uniaxial stress influences quantum critical behavior in the quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$, revealing that tensile strain pushes the system closer to quantum criticality while compression moves it away.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effect of uniaxial stress on quantum criticality in a quasi-1D Kondo lattice, providing a new method to manipulate quantum states in such materials.

Findings

Tensile intra-chain strain enhances Kondo coherence.

Compression along axes increases low-temperature specific heat divergence.

Uniaxial stress can tune proximity to quantum critical point.

Abstract

Quantum critical phenomena in the quasi-one-dimensional limit remains an open issue. We report the uniaxial stress effect on the quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ by electric transport and AC heat capacity measurements. CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ is speculated to sit in close vicinity but on the quantum-disordered side of a quantum critical point. Upon compressing the ${c}$ axis, parallel to the Ce-Ce chain, the onset of coherent Kondo effect is enhanced. In contrast, the electronic specific heat diverges more rapidly at low temperature when the intra-chain distance is elongated by compressions along {a} or {b} axes. These results suggest that a tensile intra-chain strain ($\varepsilon_c >0$) pushes CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ closer to a quantum critical point, while a compressive intra-chain strain ($\varepsilon_c <0$) likely causes departure. Our work provides a rare paradigm of manipulation near a quantum critical point in a quasi-1D Kondo lattice by uniaxial stress, and paves the way for further investigations on the unique feature of quantum criticality in the quasi-1D limit.