Ferromagnetic Quantum Critical Point in Noncentrosymmetric Systems
T. R. Kirkpatrick, D. Belitz
Abstract
Ferromagnetic quantum criticality in clean metals has proven elusive due to fermionic soft modes that drive the transition first order. We show that noncentrosymmetric metals with a strong spin-orbit interaction provide a promising class of materials for realizing a ferromagnetic quantum critical point in clean systems. The spin-orbit interaction renders massive the soft modes that interfere with quantum criticality in most materials, while the absence of spatial inversion symmetry precludes the existence of new classes of soft modes that could have the same effect.
Topics & Concepts
CriticalityQuantum critical pointFerromagnetismPoint reflectionQuantumCondensed matter physicsPhysicsQuantum phase transitionPhase transitionQuantum phasesQuantum mechanicsNuclear physicsPhysics of Superconductivity and MagnetismRare-earth and actinide compoundsQuantum and electron transport phenomena