Probing FeSi, a -electron topological Kondo insulator candidate, with magnetic field, pressure, and microwaves.

Recently, evidence for a conducting surface state (CSS) below 19 K was reported for the correlated -electron small gap semiconductor FeSi. In the work reported herein, the CSS and the bulk phase of FeSi were probed via electrical resistivity ρ measurements as a function of temperature , magnetic field to 60 T, and pressure to 7.6 GPa, and by means of a magnetic field-modulated microwave spectroscopy (MFMMS) technique.

From hidden order to antiferromagnetism: Electronic structure changes in Fe-doped URuSi.

In matter, any spontaneous symmetry breaking induces a phase transition characterized by an order parameter, such as the magnetization vector in ferromagnets, or a macroscopic many-electron wave function in superconductors. Phase transitions with unknown order parameter are rare but extremely appealing, as they may lead to novel physics. An emblematic and still unsolved example is the transition of the heavy fermion compound [Formula: see text] (URS) into the so-called hidden-order (HO) phase when the temperature drops below [Formula: see text] K.

Isoelectronic perturbations to --electron hybridization and the enhancement of hidden order in URuSi.

Electrical resistivity measurements were performed on single crystals of URu Os Si up to = 0.28 under hydrostatic pressure up to = 2 GPa. As the Os concentration, , is increased, 1) the lattice expands, creating an effective negative chemical pressure (); 2) the hidden-order (HO) phase is enhanced and the system is driven toward a large-moment antiferromagnetic (LMAFM) phase; and 3) less external pressure is required to induce the HO→LMAFM phase transition.

Phase diagram and thermal expansion measurements on the system URu2-xFexSi2.

Thermal expansion, electrical resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat measurements were performed on URuFeSi single crystals for various values of Fe concentration x in both the hidden-order (HO) and large-moment antiferromagnetic (LMAFM) regions of the phase diagram. Our results show that the paramagnetic (PM) to HO and LMAFM phase transitions are manifested differently in the thermal expansion coefficient. The uniaxial pressure derivatives of the HO/LMAFM transition temperature T change dramatically when crossing from the HO to the LMAFM phase.