CM In the literature: contested

Does the Fermi volume of YbRh2Si2 jump at its critical field

In plain words

Hall-effect data suggest that the number of electrons in the Fermi sea of YbRh2Si2 changes abruptly at a critical magnetic field when cooled to zero temperature.

Precise statement

In YbRh2Si2 at $T \to 0$ across the critical field $B_c \sim 600\,\mathrm{G}$ (field in the ab plane), determine whether the Fermi volume changes discontinuously from large (including the 4f hole) to small, as inferred from the Hall crossover whose width scales with $T$. An answer is a $T = 0$ extrapolation of the crossover width of Fermi-volume-sensitive transport (Hall coefficient, thermopower) in crystals with residual resistivity ratio of order 100 or more, or a Fermi-surface measurement at fields close to $B_c$, for example on chemically substituted samples whose critical field lies in the range accessible to quantum oscillations.

What would settle it

Hall and thermopower crossover widths measured below 10 mK on the cleanest crystals and extrapolated to $T = 0$, together with Fermi-surface data on substituted samples whose critical field is high enough for quantum oscillations.

Status in the literature

ARPES (2015) found a large Fermi surface at zero field down to about 1 K, well above the crossover temperatures; no direct Fermi-surface measurement at $B_{\mathrm{c}}$ exists.

Related problems

See also