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Quantum states

Meet the spinaron

Nature Reviews Materials volume 8, page 777 (2023)Cite this article

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For an atom on the surface of a conducting material, the Kondo effect describes the interaction between the spin of the ‘impurity’ atom and the conduction electrons in the surface, and is manifest as a minimum of resistance at the so-called Kondo temperature. Experimental signatures in the complex many-body systems of magnetically doped materials can be difficult to disentangle and interpret, but in the case of cobalt atoms on a noble-metal (111) surface, there had been consensus: the zero-bias anomaly (or dip) in the differential conductance seen using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) is linked to the Kondo effect.

Fortunately, an experimental group led by Matthias Bode at the University of Würzburg has now succeeded in performing Lounis’ “dream experiment”. Writing together in Nature Physics, Bode, Lounis and their colleagues describe how STS measurements of Co adatoms on a Cu(111) surface, in magnetic fields of up to 12 T, have revealed spectroscopic details around the zero-bias anomaly that disprove its connection to the Kondo effect. Specifically, distinct field-dependent energy shifts are seen in their spin-resolved data that instead are evidence for the existence of two spinarons. These results “could fundamentally change our understanding of the Kondo effect in solid-state physics,” says co-author Artem Odobesko.

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  • Bouaziz, J., Mendes Guimarães, F. S. & Lounis, S. A new view on the origin of zero-bias anomalies of Co atoms atop noble metal surfaces. Nat. Commun. 11, 6112 (2020)

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  1. Senior Editor, Cross-Journal Editorial Team, Nature Portfolio http://www.nature.com/natrevmats/

    Alison Wright

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  1. Alison Wright
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Correspondence to Alison Wright.

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Wright, A. Meet the spinaron. Nat Rev Mater 8, 777 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00632-3

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