Abstract
A quantum critical endpoint related to a metamagnetic transition causes distinct signatures in the thermodynamic quantities of a compound. We argue that, irrespective of the microscopic details of the considered material, the diverging differential susceptibility combined with the Ising symmetry of the endpoint give rise to a number of characteristic metamagnetic phenomena. In the presence of a magnetoelastic coupling, one finds a correspondence of susceptibility, magnetostriction, and compressibility and, as a result, a pronounced crystal softening, a diverging Grüneisen parameter, a sign change of thermal expansion , and a minimum in the specific-heat coefficient . We illustrate these signatures and their relation on the metamagnetic crossover at 8 T in the prototypical heavy-fermion system .
- Received 9 February 2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.134438
©2010 American Physical Society