Two-channel Kondo physics in two-impurity Kondo models

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Feb 24;108(8):086405. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.086405. Epub 2012 Feb 24.

Abstract

We consider the non-Fermi-liquid quantum critical state of the spin-S two-impurity Kondo model and its potential realization in a quantum dot device. Using conformal field theory and the numerical renormalization group, we show the critical point to be identical to that of the two-channel Kondo model with additional potential scattering, for any spin S. Distinct conductance signatures are shown to arise as a function of device asymmetry, with the square-root behavior commonly believed to arise at low-energies dominant only in certain regimes.