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arXiv:0905.3095 · Physical Review B

Dynamical spin-spin correlation functions in the Kondo model out of equilibrium

Dirk Schuricht, Herbert Schoeller

Published Aug 26, 2009• 25 citations
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Abstract

We calculate the dynamical spin-spin correlation functions of a Kondo dot coupled to two noninteracting leads held at different chemical potentials. To this end we generalize a recently developed real-time renormalization group (RG) method in frequency space [H. Schoeller, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 168, 179 (2009)] to allow the calculation of dynamical correlation functions of arbitrary dot operators in systems describing spin and/or orbital fluctuations. The resulting two-loop RG equations are analytically solved in the weak-coupling regime. This implies that the method can be applied provided either the voltage $V$ through the dot or the external magnetic field ${h}_{0}$ are sufficiently large, $\mathrm{max}{V,{h}_{0}}\ensuremath{\gg}{T}_{K}$, where the Kondo temperature ${T}_{K}$ is the scale where the system enters the strong-coupling regime. Explicitly, we calculate the longitudinal and transverse spin-spin correlation and response functions as well as the resulting fluctuation-dissipation ratios. The correlation functions in real-frequency space can be calculated in Matsubara space without the need of any analytical continuation. We obtain analytic results for the line shape, the small- and large-frequency limits, and several other features like the height and width of the peak in the transverse susceptibility at $\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{\approx}\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{h}$, where $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{h}$ denotes the renormalized magnetic field. Furthermore, we discuss how the developed method can be generalized to calculate dynamical correlation functions of other operators involving reservoir degrees of freedom as well.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.80.075120

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We calculate the dynamical spin-spin correlation functions of a Kondo dot coupled to two noninteracting leads held at different chemical potentials. To this end we generalize a recently developed real-time renormalization group (RG) method in frequency space [H. Schoeller, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 168, 179 (2009)] to allow the calculation of dynamical correlation functions of arbitrary dot operators in systems describing spin and/or orbital fluctuations. The resulting two-loop RG equations are analytically solved in the weak-coupling regime. This implies that the method can be applied provided either the voltage VVV through the dot or the external magnetic field h0{h}_{0}h0​ are sufficiently large, maxV,h0\ensuremath≫TK\mathrm{max}{V,{h}_{0}}\ensuremath{\gg}{T}_{K}maxV,h0​\ensuremath≫TK​, where the Kondo temperature TK{T}_{K}TK​ is the scale where the system enters the strong-coupling regime. Explicitly, we calculate the longitudinal and transverse spin-spin correlation and response functions as well as the resulting fluctuation-dissipation ratios. The correlation functions in real-frequency space can be calculated in Matsubara space without the need of any analytical continuation. We obtain analytic results for the line shape, the small- and large-frequency limits, and several other features like the height and width of the peak in the transverse susceptibility at \ensuremathΩ\ensuremath≈h\ifmmode~\else˜\fi\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{\approx}\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{h}\ensuremathΩ\ensuremath≈h\ifmmode~\else˜\fi​, where h\ifmmode~\else˜\fi\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{h}h\ifmmode~\else˜\fi​ denotes the renormalized magnetic field. Furthermore, we discuss how the developed method can be generalized to calculate dynamical correlation functions of other operators involving reservoir degrees of freedom as well.
We apply a recently developed nonequilibrium real-time renormalization group (RG) method in frequency space to describe nonlinear quantum transport through a small fermionic quantum system coupled weakly to several reservoirs via spin and/or orbital fluctuations. Within a weak-coupling two-loop analysis, we derive analytic formulas for the nonlinear conductance and the kernel determining the time evolution of the reduced density matrix. A consistent formalism is presented how the RG flow is cut off by relaxation and dephasing rates. We apply the general formalism to the nonequilibrium anisotropic Kondo model at finite magnetic field. We consider the weak-coupling regime, where the maximum of voltage and bare magnetic field is larger than the Kondo temperature. In this regime, we calculate the nonlinear conductance, the magnetic susceptibility, the renormalized spin relaxation and dephasing rates, and the renormalized ggg factor. All quantities are considered up to the first logarithmic correction beyond leading order at resonance. Up to a redefinition of the Kondo temperature, we confirm previous results for the conductance and the magnetic susceptibility in the isotropic case. In addition, we present a consistent calculation of the resonant line shapes, including the determination whether the spin relaxation or dephasing rate cuts off the logarithmic divergence. Furthermore, we calculate quantities characterizing the exponential decay of the time evolution of the magnetization. In contrast to the conductance, we find that the derivative of the spin relaxation (dephasing) rate with respect to the magnetic field is logarithmically enhanced (suppressed) for voltages smaller (larger) than the renormalized magnetic field, and that the logarithmic divergence is cut off by the opposite rate. The renormalized ggg factor is predicted to show a symmetric logarithmic suppression at resonance, which is cut off by the spin relaxation rate. We propose a three-terminal setup to measure the suppression at resonance. For all quantities, we analyze also the anisotropic case and find additional nonequilibrium effects at resonance.
In this thesis, we study two recently developed methods to tackle low-dimensional correlated quantum systems.\\In the first part, we benchmark the extension of the functional renormalization group to spin-systems. We apply it to the two-dimensional XXZ model and reproduce the prediction for the phase transition from planar to axial ordering at the isotropic point. The interpretation of the critical scale (where the flow of the susceptibility diverges) as the critical temperature of the system can be questioned, since it yields only good results in the Ising limit. Especially near the isotropic point, this interpretation becomes unsatisfactory as the Mermin-Wagner theorem is violated. We discuss several problems of the method and conclude that it should only be used to explore phase diagrams. In the second part, we extend previous works to two-level quantum dots in the Coulomb blockade regime with special hopping matrices in nonequilibrium, e.g., the Kondo model, to the generic form, including ferromagnetic leads, spin-orbit interactions etc. The dot and the transport observables are determined completely by the hybridization matrix, leading to one of our major results that all these models can be mapped to the Anderson impurity model with ferromagnetic leads. We investigate this model with a well-controlled real-time renormalization group approach and justify the results of a poor man's scaling analysis. By using a singular value decomposition of the tunneling matrix we can rotate the model to the anisotropic Kondo model in the high-energy regime to solve the flow equations analytically. With this, we calculate the stationary dot magnetization and the current. The minimum of the magnetization is found to be an ellipsoid as function of the magnetic field, where the stretching factor determines the distance to the scaling limit. Afterwards, we consider the special case of two external reservoirs and the system being in the scaling limit and discuss the golden-rule as well as the quantum-interference regime in detail. We can give a recipe how to extract the effective model parameters by measuring the current through the dot. Finally, the case of more than two dot-levels is discussed, where our approach becomes inapplicable.
We study nonequilibrium transport through a spin-1 Kondo dot in a local magnetic field. To this end we perform a two-loop renormalization group analysis in the weak-coupling regime yielding analytic results for (i) the renormalized magnetic field and the ggg factor, (ii) the time evolution of observables and the relevant decay rates, (iii) the magnetization and anisotropy, and (iv) the current and differential conductance in the stationary state. In particular, we find that compared to a spin-1/2 Kondo dot there exist three additional decay rates resulting in an enhanced broadening of the logarithmic features observed in stationary quantities. Additionally, we study the effect of anisotropic couplings between reservoir and impurity spin.
We study the nonequilibrium transport properties of fully (exactly) screened Kondo quantum dots subject to a finite bias voltage or a finite temperature. First, we calculate the Fermi-liquid coefficients of the conductance for models with arbitrary spin, i.e., its leading behavior for small bias voltages or temperatures. Second, we determine the low-temperature behavior of the static susceptibility from the exactly known Bethe ansatz results for the magnetization. Third, we study the crossover from strong to weak coupling in the spin-1/2 and the spin-1 models coupled to one or two screening channels, respectively. Using a real-time renormalization group method we calculate the static and dynamical spin-spin correlation functions for the spin-1/2 model as well as the linear and differential conductance and the static susceptibility for the spin-1 model. We define various Kondo scales and discuss their relations. We assess the validity of the renormalization-group treatment by comparing with known results for the temperature dependence of the linear conductance and static susceptibility as well as the Fermi-liquid behavior at low energies.
A detailed derivation of the recently proposed time-dependent numerical renormalization-group (TD-NRG) approach to nonequilibrium dynamics in quantum-impurity systems is presented. We demonstrate that the method is suitable for fermionic as well as bosonic baths. Comparisons with exact analytical results for the charge relaxation in the resonant-level model and for dephasing in the spin-boson model establish the accuracy of the method. The real-time dynamics of a single spin coupled to each type of bath is investigated. We use the TD-NRG to calculate the spin relaxation and spin precession of a single Kondo impurity. The short- and long-time dynamics are studied as a function of temperature in the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic regimes. The short-time dynamics agrees very well with analytical results obtained at second order in the exchange coupling JJJ. In the ferromagnetic regime, the transient spin decay is described by the scaling variable $x=2{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{F}\ensuremath{\mid}J(T)\ensuremath{\mid}Tt$. In the antiferromagnetic regime, the long-time decay is governed for T<TKT<{T}_{K}T<TK​ by the Kondo time scale 1∕TK1∕{T}_{K}1∕TK​. Here ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{F}$ is the conduction-electron density of states, TK{T}_{K}TK​ is the Kondo temperature, and J(T)J(T)J(T) is the effective exchange coupling at temperature TTT. Results for spin precession are obtained by rotating the external magnetic field from the xxx axis to the zzz axis.
Kondo physics first surfaced into the scientific world in 1934 via an unexpected observations made by a group of experimentalists, who measured the temperature-dependent resistance of gold wires in their laboratory at the University of Leiden. When decreasing the temperature below 4 Kelvin, they observed an unexpected increase of the resistance, which resulted in a resistance minimum that was not accounted for by the theoretical understanding at that time. Only 30 years later, Jun Kondo, a Japanese physicist from Tokyo, was the first to explain this curiosity, known as the Kondo effect, under the assistance of the Kondo model. Although his findings explained the increased resistance, a more fundamental problem was raised: the Kondo problem, an unphysical divergence of the resistance at very low temperatures. To solve this problem required the development of more advanced methods beyond the scope of pure perturbative methods, namely the use of renormalization group (RG) methods. More than twenty years after Kondo’s first steps towards the solution of the resistance minimum, the Kondo effect experienced a scientific revival due to the emergence of quantum dot systems in solid state physics. A quantum dot is a very localized and spatially restricted area within a metal, where only a few electrons fit in the area. The limited spatial spread constrains the possible positions for the electrons on the dot, and forces them into strong interactions with each other–they are strongly correlated. In quantum dot systems, not only the Kondo effect in equilibrium situations between the dot and its surrounding reservoirs can be studied, but also the effects of nonequilibrium situations, where a finite bias voltage drives a current through the quantum dot. However, the nonequilibrium Kondo effect is far less explored compared to its equilibrium counterpart and it requires the development of new methods beyond established equilibrium methods. To fill this gap, we use the recently developed real-time renormalization group (RTRG) method in the weak-coupling regime and its extension to the crossover regime, from weak coupling to strong coupling. Furthermore, different combinations between the number of electrons on the dot and the number of reservoirs of electrons in the surrounding metal allow for distinct physical situations, which can be studied within the framework of the RTRG method. We subsequently characterize the properties of the the overscreened, the underscreened, and the fully screened Kondo model by analyzing their physical observables and, in parts, their time evolution. The perturbative foundation of the RTRG method gives us the opportunity to gather new analytic insights for higher spin Kondo systems, on the one hand, and provides for a qualitative comparison of obtained results to various other methods and analytic results, on the other hand.