Theory of a quantum impurity model for two-stage multipolar ordering and Fermi surface reconstruction

Synopsis

Classification and understanding of quantum phase transitions and critical phenomena in itinerant electron systems are outstanding questions in quantum materials research. Recent experiments on heavy fermion systems with higher-rank multipolar local moments provide a new platform to study such questions. In particular, experiments on Ce₃Pd₂₀(Si,Ge)₆ show novel quantum critical behaviors via two consecutive magnetic field-driven quantum phase transitions. At each transition, the derivative of the Hall conductivity jumps discontinuously, which was attributed to sequential Fermi surface reconstructions. Motivated by this discovery, we consider an effective quantum impurity model of itinerant electrons coupled to local dipolar, quadrupolar, and octupolar moments arising from Ce³⁺ ions. Using renormalization group analyses, we demonstrate that two-stage multipolar ordering and Fermi surface reconstruction arise depending on which multipolar moments participate in the Fermi surface and which other moments are decoupled via Kondo destruction.