Fractionalized Fermi liquids

Abstract

In spatial dimensions d >= 2, Kondo lattice models of conduction and local moment electrons can exhibit a fractionalized, non-magnetic state (FL*) with a Fermi surface of sharp electron-like quasiparticles, enclosing a volume quantized by (ρ_a-1)(mod 2), with ρ_a the mean number of all electrons per unit cell of the ground state. Such states have fractionalized excitations linked to the deconfined phase of a gauge theory. Confinement leads to a conventional Fermi liquid state, with a Fermi volume quantized by ρ_a (mod 2), and an intermediate superconducting state for the Z_2 gauge case. The FL* state permits a second order metamagnetic transition in an applied magnetic field.

4 pages, 1 figure; (v2) changed title and terminology, but content largely unchanged; (v3) updated version to appear in PRL