Kondo Destruction and Quantum Criticality in Kondo Lattice Systems

Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to theoretically understand quantum phase transitions in Kondo lattice systems. A particular focus is on Kondo destruction, which leads to quantum criticality that goes beyond the Landau framework of order-parameter fluctuations. This unconventional quantum criticality has provided an understanding of the unusual dynamical scaling observed experimentally. It also predicted a sudden jump of the Fermi surface and an extra (Kondo destruction) energy scale, both of which have been verified by systematic experiments. Considerations of Kondo destruction have in addition yielded a global phase diagram, which has motivated the current interest in heavy fermion materials with variable dimensionality or geometrical frustration. Here we summarize these developments, and discuss some of the ongoing work and open issues. We also consider the implications of these results for superconductivity. Finally, we address the effect of spin–orbit coupling on the global phase diagram, suggest that SmB6 under pressure may display unconventional superconductivity in the transition regime between a Kondo insulator phase and an antiferroamgnetic metal phase, and argue that the interfaces of heavy-fermion heterostructures will provide a fertile setting to explore topological properties of both Kondo insulators and heavy-fermion superconductors