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Abstract:
Conventional, thermally driven continuous phase transitions are described by universal critical behavior that is independent of the specific microscopic details of a material. However, many current studies focus on materials that exhibit quantum-driven continuous phase transitions (quantum critical points, or QCPs) at absolute zero temperature. The classification of such QCPs and the question of whether they show universal behavior remain open issues. Here we report measurements of heat capacity and de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillations at low temperatures across a field-induced anti-ferromagnetic QCP (B-c0 approximate to 50 T) in the heavy-fermion metal CeRhIn5. A sharp, magnetic-field-induced change in Fermi surface is detected both in the dHvA effect and Hall resistivity at B-0* approximate to 30 T, well inside the antiferromagnetic phase. Comparisons with band-structure calculations and properties of isostructural CeCoIn5 suggest that the Fermi-surface change at B-0* is associated with a localized-to-itinerant transition of the Ce-4f electrons in CeRhIn5. Taken in conjunction with pressure experiments, our results demonstrate that at least two distinct classes of QCP are observable in CeRhIn5, a significant step toward the derivation of a universal phase diagram for QCPs.
