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Symmetric versus antisymmetric strain tuning of the valence transition in Yb(In1−xAgx)Cu4

Caitlin I. O'Neil1,2, Michelle Ocker3, Kristin Kliemt3, Cornelius Krellner3, and Elena Gati1,3,4,*

  • *Contact author: elena.gati@cpfs.mpg.de
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Phys. Rev. B 112, 235149 – Published 17 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3kf4-b534

Abstract

Similar to transitions in a range of correlated quantum materials, the valence transition exhibits a strong coupling to the crystal lattice, rendering it highly sensitive to stress tuning. In the present work, we determine the effect of uniaxial stress, which breaks the lattice symmetry, on the valence transition temperature and its crossover temperature in pure and Ag-substituted YbInCu4. Our key result is that hydrostatic stress is more effective in tuning this transition than uniaxial stress. Based on a symmetry decomposition of the stress-induced strains, we argue that this observation can be quantitatively understood, given that the valence transition is mostly sensitive to symmetric strains and thus volume changes of the lattice. These results support the notion that the valence transition can give rise to critical elasticity close to its critical endpoint.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 235149– Published 17 December, 2025
  • Received 6 August 2025
  • Revised 21 October 2025
  • Accepted 25 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Open access publication funded by Max Planck Society.

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