An analytical description of nonequilibrium phenomena in interacting quantum systems is rarely possible. Here we present one example where such a description can be achieved, namely, the ferromagnetic Kondo model. In equilibrium, this model is tractable via perturbative renormalization-group techniques. We employ a recently developed extension of the flow-equation method to calculate the nonequilibrium decay of the local magnetization at zero temperature. The flow equations admit analytical solutions which become exact at short and long times, in the latter case revealing that the system always retains a memory of its initial state.
An analytical description of nonequilibrium phenomena in interacting quantum systems is rarely possible. Here we present one example where such a description can be achieved, namely, the ferromagnetic Kondo model. In equilibrium, this model is tractable via perturbative renormalization-group techniques. We employ a recently developed extension of the flow-equation method to calculate the nonequilibrium decay of the local magnetization at zero temperature. The flow equations admit analytical solutions which become exact at short and long times, in the latter case revealing that the system always retains a memory of its initial state.
Motivated by recent experiments on molecular quantum dots we investigate the relaxation of pure spin states when coupled to metallic leads. Under suitable conditions these systems are well described by a ferromagnetic Kondo model. Using two recently developed theoretical approaches, the time-dependent numerical renormalization group and an extended flow equation method, we calculate the real-time evolution of a Kondo spin into its partially screened steady state. We obtain exact analytical results which agree well with numerical implementations of both methods. Analytical expressions for the steady state magnetization and the dependence of the long-time relaxation on microscopic parameters are established. We find the long-time relaxation process to be much faster in the regime of anisotropic Kondo couplings. The steady state magnetization is found to deviate significantly from its thermal equilibrium value.
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 J. 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<TK by the Kondo time scale 1∕TK. Here ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{F}$ is the conduction-electron density of states, TK is the Kondo temperature, and J(T) is the effective exchange coupling at temperature T. Results for spin precession are obtained by rotating the external magnetic field from the x axis to the z axis.
In this thesis, several cases of non-equilibrium phenomena and quantum phase transitions in strongly correlated electron systems are analyzed. The unconventional critical behavior near magnetic quantum phase transitions in various heavy-fermion metals has triggered proposals on the breakdown of the Kondo effect at the critical point. In part I, we investigate, within one specific scenario, the fate of such a zero-temperature transition upon coupling of the electronic to lattice degrees of freedom. We study a Kondo-Heisenberg model with volume-dependent Kondo coupling � this model displays both Kondo volume collapse and Kondo-breakdown transitions. Within a large-N treatment, we find that the Kondo breakdown transition remains of second order except for very soft lattices. Finally, we relate our findings to current heavy-fermion experiments. Using non-equilibrium Green�s functions, we derive transport equations for the degrees of freedom participating in the quantum critical region of the Kondo breakdown transition. We discuss conditions under which the transport of electrical charge is described by the independent motion of conduction electrons and auxiliary bosons. Under these conditions, we derive a semiclassical transport equation for the bosons and quantitatively discuss the electrical conductivity of the whole system. Motivated by pressure experiments on FeAs-122 superconductors, in part II we propose a scenario based on local-moment physics to explain salient features at the magnetic phase boundary of CaFe2As2. In this scenario, the low-pressure magnetic phase derives from Fe moments, which become screened in the paramagnetic high-pressure phase. The quantum phase transition can be described as an orbital-selective Mott transition, which is rendered first order by coupling to the lattice. These ideas are illustrated by a suitable mean-field analysis of an Anderson lattice model. An analytical description of non-equilibrium phenomena in interacting quantum systems is rarely possible. In part III we present one example where such a description can be achieved, namely the ferromagnetic Kondo model. In equilibrium, this model is tractable via perturbative renormalization-group techniques. We employ a recently developed extension of the flow-equation method to calculate the non-equilibrium decay of the local magnetization at zero temperature. The flow equations admit analytical solutions which become exact at short and long times, in the latter case revealing that the system always retains a memory of its initial state. Finally, in part IV we analyze the Nernst effect resulting from normal state quasiparticles in the cuprates in presence of various types of translational symmetry breaking. In the electron-doped cuprates, the Nernst signal resulting from a reconstruction of the Fermi surface due to spin density wave order is discussed. An order parameter consistent with the reconstruction of the Fermi surface detected in electron-doped materials is shown to sharply enhance the Nernst signal close to optimal doping. Within a semiclassical treatment, the obtained magnitude and position of the enhanced Nernst signal agrees with Nernst measurements in electron-doped cuprates. In the hole-doped cuprates, we discuss relations between the normal-state Nernst effect and stripe order. We find that Fermi pockets caused by translational symmetry breaking lead to a strongly enhanced Nernst signal with a sign depending on the modulation period of the ordered state and other details of the Fermi surface. This implies differences between antiferromagnetic and charge-only stripes. We compare our findings with recent data from La1.6−xNd0.4SrxCuO4 and YBa2Cu3Oy.
We analyze the nonequilibrium Kondo model at finite voltage and temperature by using a new formulation of the real-time renormalization group method with the Laplace variable as the flow parameter. We evaluate the energy-dependent spin relaxation rate and nonlinear conductance, and derive an approximate form for the universal line shape for the latter in the whole crossover regime from weak to strong coupling. The results are shown to agree well with exact methods in equilibrium, Fermi-liquid theory, weak-coupling expansions, and recent experiments. For the transient spin dynamics we find a universal exponential decay in the long-time limit along with a truncation-dependent pre-exponential power law. For multichannel models a pure power-law decay typical for non-Fermi-liquid behavior is predicted.
Correlations are a central ingredient of modern condensed matter physics. With the advent of mesoscopic physics, it became possible to study correlated systems in non-equilibrium situations, which can be reached by e.g. driving a constant current through a quantum dot. A basic question is how correlations on the one hand and a non-equilibrium current on the other hand influence each other. Here this interplay is studied for the model system of a quantum dot in the Kondo regime using the real time renormalization group (RTRG) method. This method is a functional renormalization group (RG) method allowing a non-perturbative description of correlated systems in non-equilibrium. For the Kondo quantum dot the method is generalized to the case of double vertices. The RTRG method not only provides equations for the calculation of the renormalized coupling between the quantum dot spin and the reservoir electrons, but also equations for the calculation of the non-equilibrium decoherence rate and the non-equilibrium current.The RG equations are derived to second order. This approximation is expected to be valid as long as the quantum dot does not enter the strong coupling regime, i.e. the effective coupling strength between the quantum dot spin and the electrons does not become too large. It is found that this is the case if the bias voltage applied to the dot or the temperature is much larger than the Kondo temperature.It is shown that the RG equations lead to coupling functions depending on the energy of the incident and the scattered electron. This dependence is simplified to the dependence on the average energy of the incident and the scattered electron in the weak coupling regime.A closer inspection of the RG equations for the couplings shows that they not only contain terms leading to a logarithmic increase of the coupling strength but also subleading terms which are unimportant in the weak coupling regime. The RG equations are solved analytically for the case where the subleading terms are neglected. It is found that the coupling functions develop resonances at energies associated with the chemical potentials of the reservoirs. The height of these resonances is determined by the decoherence rate. However, for bias voltages much larger than the Kondo temperature these resonances do not affect the conductance for a two terminal setup, so the conductance does not provide a measure for the decoherence rate in this case. It is found that the conductance for the two terminal setup is a universal function of voltage/Kondo temperature and temperature/Kondo temperature in the weak coupling regime. This function is calculated analytically in the limits of vanishing voltage or temperature. Furthermore, it is found that for zero temperature the decoherence rate is proportional to the non-equilibrium current flowing through the system. This supports the physical picture that a non-equilibrium current is associated with a decoherence rate, which cuts the logarithmic scaling of the coupling strength.Finally, the RG equations are solved numerically for zero temperature including the subleading corrections found before. As expected, the subleading corrections have no impact on the decoherence rate and the conductance in the weak coupling regime. On the other hand, it is found that they lead to strong deviations from the results of the analytic leading logarithmic approximation if the bias voltage approaches the Kondo temperature. Generally, it is found that the subleading corrections lead to a saturation of the decoherence rate and the conductance to some finite value. However, for the numerical solution a numerical regularization parameter has to be introduced. It turns out that the saturation value found depends on its value, so no statements on the precise value of the decoherence rate and the current can be made in this regime.
We investigate the equilibration of a Kondo model that is initially prepared in a nonequilibrium state towards its equilibrium behavior. Such initial nonequilibrium states can, e.g., be realized in quantum-dot experiments with time-dependent gate voltages. We evaluate the nonequilibrium spin-spin correlation function at the Toulouse point of the Kondo model exactly and analyze the crossover between nonequilibrium and equilibrium behavior as the nonequilibrium initial state evolves as a function of the waiting time for the first spin measurement. Using the flow equation method, we extend these results to the experimentally relevant limit of small Kondo couplings.