Rare-earth and actinide compounds

Rare-earth and actinide compounds host electrons so strongly correlated with local magnetic moments that the quasiparticles carrying current behave as though they have masses hundreds of times greater than free electrons — a phenomenon called heavy-fermion behavior. These materials sit at the intersection of magnetism and superconductivity, and by tuning pressure, magnetic field, or chemical composition, researchers can drive them through quantum phase transitions that occur at absolute zero, where quantum fluctuations rather than thermal energy govern the physics. Near these quantum critical points, electrons stop following the standard Fermi-liquid description of metals entirely, hinting that the usual theoretical framework breaks down and something more fundamental is at work. Central open questions include how unconventional superconductivity — possibly mediated by magnetic fluctuations rather than phonons — emerges from this strange normal state, and what the topology of the Fermi surface reveals about the interplay between localized f-electrons and itinerant conduction electrons in actinide metals like uranium and plutonium compounds.

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Keywords

Heavy FermionSuperconductivityQuantum CriticalityNon-Fermi-Liquid BehaviorFermi SurfaceUnconventional Superconductivity