Critical Fluctuations and Conserved Dynamics in a Strange Ferromagnetic Metal
The origin of the strange metallic behavior observed in a wide range of quantum materials is an open challenge to condensed matter physics. Historically, strange metals were uniquely associated with antiferromagnetic quantum critical points (QCPs), but a new generation of materials reveals their association with uniform order parameters, such as ferromagnetism, valley, or nematic order, suggesting a deeper common denominator. At a QCP, order parameter fluctuations are characterized by the dynamical critical exponent z, which quantifies the space-time scaling asymmetry. Here, we report the observation of a divergence in the Grüneisen ratio at the QCP of the strange-metal ferromagnet CeRh_{6}Ge_{4} with a dynamical critical exponent z=3, signaling that the underlying quantum singularity involves a conserved degree of freedom. Yet the magnetization of this easy-plane ferromagnet is not conserved. We argue that the z=3 strange criticality requires a description beyond the Landau paradigm, proposing a link with the gauge modes of the small-to-large Fermi surface transition and the associated gauge charge of the delocalizing heavy electrons.
Authors
- Karl J. Friston
Institutions
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (NL)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (DE)
- Hubei Normal University (CN)
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/bp6l-46z7
- Primary Topic
- Rare-earth and actinide compounds
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00