Kondo impurities provide a nontrivial probe to unravel the character of the excitations of a quantum spin liquid. In the S = 1/2 Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice, Kondo impurities embedded in the spin-liquid host can be screened by itinerant Majorana fermions via gauge-flux binding. Here, we report experimental signatures of metallic-like Kondo screening at intermediate temperatures in the Kitaev honeycomb material α-RuCl3 with dilute Cr3+ (S = 3/2) impurities. The static magnetic susceptibility, the muon Knight shift, and the muon spin-relaxation rate all feature logarithmic divergences, a hallmark of a metallic Kondo effect. Concurrently, the linear coefficient of the magnetic specific heat is large in the same temperature regime, indicating the presence of a host Majorana metal. This observation opens new avenues for exploring uncharted Kondo physics in insulating quantum magnets.
%0 Journal Article
%1 lee2023kondo
%A Lee, S.
%A Choi, Y. S.
%A Do, S.-H
%A Lee, W.
%A Lee, C. H.
%A Lee, M.
%A Vojta, M.
%A Wang, C. N.
%A Luetkens, H.
%A Guguchia, Z.
%A Choi, K.-Y
%D 2023
%J Nat. Commun.
%K b
%N 1
%P 7405
%R 10.1038/s41467-023-43185-3
%T Kondo screening in a Majorana metal
%U https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43185-3
%V 14
%X Kondo impurities provide a nontrivial probe to unravel the character of the excitations of a quantum spin liquid. In the S = 1/2 Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice, Kondo impurities embedded in the spin-liquid host can be screened by itinerant Majorana fermions via gauge-flux binding. Here, we report experimental signatures of metallic-like Kondo screening at intermediate temperatures in the Kitaev honeycomb material α-RuCl3 with dilute Cr3+ (S = 3/2) impurities. The static magnetic susceptibility, the muon Knight shift, and the muon spin-relaxation rate all feature logarithmic divergences, a hallmark of a metallic Kondo effect. Concurrently, the linear coefficient of the magnetic specific heat is large in the same temperature regime, indicating the presence of a host Majorana metal. This observation opens new avenues for exploring uncharted Kondo physics in insulating quantum magnets.
@article{lee2023kondo,
abstract = {Kondo impurities provide a nontrivial probe to unravel the character of the excitations of a quantum spin liquid. In the S = 1/2 Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice, Kondo impurities embedded in the spin-liquid host can be screened by itinerant Majorana fermions via gauge-flux binding. Here, we report experimental signatures of metallic-like Kondo screening at intermediate temperatures in the Kitaev honeycomb material α-RuCl3 with dilute Cr3+ (S = 3/2) impurities. The static magnetic susceptibility, the muon Knight shift, and the muon spin-relaxation rate all feature logarithmic divergences, a hallmark of a metallic Kondo effect. Concurrently, the linear coefficient of the magnetic specific heat is large in the same temperature regime, indicating the presence of a host Majorana metal. This observation opens new avenues for exploring uncharted Kondo physics in insulating quantum magnets.},
added-at = {2024-02-27T20:48:11.000+0100},
author = {Lee, S. and Choi, Y. S. and Do, S.-H and Lee, W. and Lee, C. H. and Lee, M. and Vojta, M. and Wang, C. N. and Luetkens, H. and Guguchia, Z. and Choi, K.-Y},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2dfdffb6c0ae53bf718b94a91140cebd0/ctqmat},
day = 16,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-43185-3},
interhash = {fedc4d3327a8db8f64bc3837020ffa95},
intrahash = {dfdffb6c0ae53bf718b94a91140cebd0},
issn = {20411723},
journal = {Nat. Commun.},
keywords = {b},
month = {11},
number = 1,
pages = 7405,
refid = {Lee2023},
timestamp = {2024-06-28T17:01:04.000+0200},
title = {Kondo screening in a Majorana metal},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43185-3},
volume = 14,
year = 2023
}