Litcius/Paper detail

Wiedemann-Franz law in a non-Fermi liquid and Majorana central charge: Thermoelectric transport in a two-channel Kondo system

G.A.R. van Dalum, Andrew K. Mitchell, Lars Fritz

2020Physical review. B./Physical review. B31 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Quantum dot devices allow one to access the critical point of the two-channel Kondo model. The effective critical theory involves a free Majorana fermion quasiparticle localized on the dot. As a consequence, this critical point shows both the phenomenon of non-Fermi-liquid physics and fractionalization. Although a violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law is often considered to be a sign of non-Fermi-liquid systems, we show by exact calculations that it holds at the critical point, thereby providing a counterexample to this lore. Furthermore, we show that the fractionalized Majorana character of the critical point can be unambiguously detected from the heat conductance, opening the door to a direct experimental measurement of the elusive Majorana central charge $c=\frac{1}{2}$.

Topics & Concepts

MAJORANAPhysicsFractionalizationCondensed matter physicsQuasiparticleCharge (physics)Majorana fermionQuantum critical pointKondo modelFermionCritical point (mathematics)Kondo effectQuantum mechanicsLawQuantum phase transitionElectrical resistivity and conductivitySuperconductivityPhase transitionMathematicsPolitical scienceMathematical analysisEthnic groupQuantum and electron transport phenomenaTopological Materials and PhenomenaPhysics of Superconductivity and Magnetism