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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen

TT 6: Postersession Correlated Electrons: (General) Theory, Low-Dimensional Systems, Kondo Physics, Heavy Fermions, Quantum-Critical Phenomena

TT 6.62: Poster

Monday, March 23, 2009, 13:00–16:45, P1A

A ’hidden disorder’ scenario for the low-temperature phase transitions in heavy-fermion compounds — •Tanja Rindler-Daller and Matthias Vojta — Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Str. 77, 50937 Köln, Germany

In the study of the low-temperature phase transitions in heavy-fermion compounds, one encounters a complex variety of ordering phenomena. In particular, the nature of the so-called ’hidden order’ transition in URu₂Si₂, which is characterized by severe thermodynamical signatures, is not yet fully understood. We adopt an effective theory with 2 competing fields in order to explore the idea of ’hidden disorder’. By performing a scaling analysis and studying a simple model, we can show that the proposed scenario is able to account for the observed anomalies in the specific heat, and serves thus as a rationale for a more detailed microscopic analysis, which is under way.