Multi-Component Electronic Correlations in Non-Centrosymmetric f-Electron Compounds

在金属f电子化合物中，电子关联的影响格外明显，驱动着常规和非常规形式的自旋和电荷顺序。尽管几十年来对重费米子材料进行了密集的研究，但一个重要的悬而未决的问题是，强关联的影响在多大程度上反映了近等能量尺度的相互作用，如磁相互作用、自旋和晶格各向异性、晶体电场、磁弹性耦合等。最近对非中心对称f电子化合物的研究表明，声子、晶场激发和磁子的耦合稳定了新形式的混合激发、非传统超导电性和复杂形式的磁序。我们建议结合高质量单晶的制备、极端条件下的体积和输运测量、全面的中子散射研究和量子振荡的测量，对精心挑选的非中心对称f电子化合物的电子关联的性质进行详细的唯象解释。我们建议将重点放在CeTAl3和CeTGa3等结构化合物(其中T代表过渡金属)以及被选来揭示非常规行为的互补体系上。

In metallic f-electron compounds the effects of electronic correlations are exceptionally pronounced, driving conventional and unconventional forms of spin and charge order. Despite many decades of intense research in heavy fermion materials, an important unresolved question concerns to what extent the effects of strong correlations reflect the interplay of nearly equivalent energy scales such as magnetic interactions, spin and lattice anisotropies, crystal electric fields magneto-elastic coupling etc. Recent studies in non-centrosymmetric f-electron compounds reveal, that the coupling of phonons, crystal field excitations and magnons stabilise new forms of hybrid excitations, unconventional superconductivity and complex forms of magnetic order. We propose to develop a detailed phenomenological account of the nature of electronic correlations in carefully selected non-centrosymmetric f-electron compounds, combining the preparation of high quality single-crystals, bulk and transport measurements under extreme conditions, comprehensive neutron scattering studies and measurements of quantum oscillations. We propose to focus in our studies on the class of isostructural CeTAl3 and CeTGa3 compounds (where T stands for a transition metal), as well as complimentary systems selected to expose unconventional behaviour.