hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to theoretically understand quantum phase transitions in Kondo
lattice systems. A particular focus is on Kondo destruction, which leads to quantum criticality that goes beyond the
Landau framework of order-parameter
fl
uctuations. This unconventional quantum criticality has provided an
understanding of the unusual dynamical scaling observed experimentally. It also predicted a sudden jump of the
Fermi surface and an extra (Kondo destruction) energy scale, both of which have been veri
fi
ed by systematic
experiments. Considerations of Kondo destruction have in addition yielded a global phase diagram, which has motivated
the current interest in heavy fermion materials with variable dimensionality or geometrical frustration. Here we
summarize these developments, and discuss some of the ongoing work and open issues. We also consider the
implications of these results for superconductivity. Finally, we address the effect of spin
–
orbit coupling on the global
phase diagram, suggest that SmB
6
under pressure may display unconventional superconductivity in the transition regime
between a Kondo insulator phase and an antiferroamgnetic metal phase, and argue that the interfaces of heavy-fermion
heterostructures will provide a fertile setting to explore topological properties of both Kondo insulators and heavy-
fermion superconductors.
