arXiv:cond-mat/0301158 · Physical review. B, Condensed matter
Critical theory of the two-channel Anderson impurity model
Henrik Johannesson, Natan Andrei, C. J. Bolech
Abstract
We construct the boundary conformal field theory that describes the low-temperature behavior of the two-channel Anderson impurity model. The presence of an exactly marginal operator is shown to generate a line of stable fixed points parametrized by the charge valence ${n}_{c}$ of the impurity. We calculate the exact zero-temperature entropy and impurity thermodynamics along the fixed line. We also derive the critical exponents of the characteristic Fermi edge singularities caused by time-dependent hybridization between conduction electrons and impurity. Our results suggest that in the mixed-valent regime ${(n}_{c}\ensuremath{\ne}0,1)$ the electrons participate in two competing processes, leading to frustrated screening of spin and channel degrees of freedom. By combining the boundary conformal field theory with the Bethe-Ansatz solution we obtain a complete description of the low-energy dynamics of the model.