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Published on: January 19, 2018
Universal dephasing rate due to diluted Kondo impurities
T Micklitz1, A Altland, T A Costi
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany.
The dephasing rate from magnetic impurities in metals is a universal function of temperature and Kondo temperature at low impurity densities. Inelastic vertex corrections are suppressed, allowing accurate calculation using the T matrix and numerical renormalization group methods.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum phenomena
- Materials science
Background:
- Weak localization experiments measure dephasing rates in metals.
- Magnetic impurities influence electron scattering and dephasing.
- Kondo temperature (TK) characterizes impurity interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To calculate the dephasing rate caused by magnetic impurities in weakly disordered metals.
- To investigate the role of inelastic vertex corrections in dephasing.
- To establish a method for accurate dephasing rate calculation.
Main Methods:
- Weak localization experiments.
- Numerical renormalization group (NRG) for exact T-matrix evaluation.
- Analysis of inelastic vertex corrections.
Main Results:
- Dephasing rate (1/tau_phi) is a universal function of (nS/nu)f(T/TK) at low magnetic impurity densities (nS).
- Inelastic vertex corrections are suppressed by powers of 1/(tau_phi*DeltaE), proportional to nS.
- Dephasing rate calculation is linked to inelastic cross-section via the T matrix.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a precise method for calculating dephasing rates due to magnetic impurities.
- Suppression of vertex corrections simplifies dephasing rate analysis.
- NRG method ensures accurate evaluation of the T matrix for dephasing calculations.
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