Quasiparticle properties below coherence onset in YbAl3 nanostructures

TL;DR

This study uses mesoscopic transport measurements on YbAl3 nanostructures to probe quasiparticle coherence and electron-phonon interactions, revealing coherence lengths and energy loss behaviors below the heavy fermion coherence temperature.

Contribution

It introduces mesoscopic transport techniques to analyze quasiparticle properties in YbAl3 nanostructures, providing new insights into coherence and electron-phonon interactions in correlated metals.

Findings

Electronic coherence lengths of tens of nanometers observed.

Significant electron-phonon energy loss increases as temperature decreases.

Weak antilocalization and conductance fluctuations consistent with quasiparticle coherence.

Abstract

Mesoscopic transport measurements are underexplored as probes of quasiparticles and their properties in correlated metals. The mixed valence compound YbAl$_3$ exhibits a single-ion Kondo temperature of 670 K, while thermodynamic and transport properties (probed with specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, Hall effect, and resistivity) imply the onset of coherence of heavy fermion quasiparticles at T$* \approx$ 37 K. To characterize these quasiparticles, we utilize mesoscopic techniques familiar from weakly correlated conductors. In lithographically-defined nanowires etched from epitaxial films, we observe weak antilocalization magnetoresistance and universal conductance fluctuations, consistent with electronic coherence lengths of tens of nanometers. Additionally, analysis of Johnson-Nyquist noise measurements as a function of bias current reveal, within the context of a range of accepted models, a significant electron-phonon energy loss that increases with decreasing temperature, a finding that we contextualize within the broader properties of YbAl$_3$.