Article abstract
Nature Materials 8, 337 - 341 (2009)
Published online: 22 February 2009 | Corrected online: 26 February 2009 | doi:10.1038/nmat2395
Subject Categories: Magnetic materials | Computation, modelling and theory
Hidden order in URu2Si2 originates from Fermi surface gapping induced by dynamic symmetry breaking
S. Elgazzar1,3, J. Rusz1, M. Amft1, P. M. Oppeneer1 & J. A. Mydosh2
Abstract
Spontaneous, collective ordering of electronic degrees of freedom leads to second-order phase transitions that are characterized by an order parameter driving the transition. The notion of a 'hidden order' has recently been used for a variety of materials where a clear phase transition occurs without a known order parameter. The prototype example is the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2, where a mysterious hidden-order transition occurs at 17.5 K. For more than twenty years this system has been studied theoretically and experimentally without a firm grasp of the underlying physics. Here, we provide a microscopic explanation of the hidden order using density-functional theory calculations. We identify the Fermi surface 'hot spots' where degeneracy induces a Fermi surface instability and quantify how symmetry breaking lifts the degeneracy, causing a surprisingly large Fermi surface gapping. As the mechanism for the hidden order, we deduce spontaneous symmetry breaking through a dynamic mode of antiferromagnetic moment excitations.
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, Uppsala University, Box 530, S-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden
- II. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Köln, Germany
- On leave from: Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin El-kom, 32511, Egypt
Correspondence to: P. M. Oppeneer1 e-mail: peter.oppeneer@fysik.uu.se
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