- Editors' Suggestion
Quantum Griffiths phase in the kagome Kondo lattice
Phys. Rev. B 112, 155151 – Published 23 October, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8lf7-j26n
Abstract
CeRhSn is a valence fluctuating heavy-fermion metal with a twisted Ce-kagome lattice, displaying zero-field quantum criticality, previously associated with geometrical frustration. The partial substitution of Rh by Pd in enlarges the unit-cell volume, suppresses valence fluctuations, decreases the Kondo temperature, and stabilizes a possible long-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordered ground state with K at . Previous thermodynamic and spectroscopic measurements for suggested a quantum critical spin liquid. We report low-temperature dilatometry and magnetization measurements on and compare with published low- specific heat data. The absence of a Grüneisen parameter divergence excludes a conventional quantum criticality scenario. Instead, the weak power-law divergences signal non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior, according to a disorder-driven quantum Griffiths phase scenario. At low temperatures, a negative thermal expansion is found in fields above approximately 0.5 T and the NFL scaling breaks down, probably due to the polarization of AFM correlations.