Unconventional T-H phase diagram in the noncentrosymmetric compound Yb2Fe12P7

Phys Rev Lett. 2010 Sep 3;105(10):106403. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.106403. Epub 2010 Sep 1.

Abstract

The temperature-(T-)magnetic-field (H) phase diagram for the noncentrosymmetric compound Yb(2)Fe(12)P(7), [corrected] determined from electrical resistivity (ρ), specific heat (C), and magnetization (M) measurements on single crystal specimens, is reported. This system exhibits a crossover from a magnetically ordered non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) phase at low H to another NFL phase at higher H. The crossover occurs near the value of H where the magnetic ordering temperature (T(M)) is no longer observable in C(T,H)/T and ρ(T,H), but not where T(M) extrapolates smoothly to T=0 K at a possible quantum critical point (QCP). This indicates the occurrence of a quantum phase transition between the two NFL phases. The lack of a clear relationship between the extrapolated QCP and NFL behavior suggests an unconventional route to the NFL ground states.