Divergence of the Magnetic Grüneisen Ratio at the Field-Induced Quantum Critical Point in YbRh$_2$Si$_2$

Tokiwa, Y.; Radu, T.; Gegenwart, P.; Geibel, C.; Steglich, F.

Divergence of the Magnetic Grüneisen Ratio at the Field-Induced Quantum Critical Point in YbRh$_2$Si$_2$

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Description

The heavy fermion compound YbRh$_2$Si$_2$ is studied by low-temperature magnetization $M(T)$ and specific-heat $C(T)$ measurements at magnetic fields close to the quantum critical point ($H_c=0.06$ T, $H\perp c$). Upon approaching the instability, $dM/dT$ is more singular than $C(T)$, leading to a divergence of the magnetic Grüneisen ratio $Γ_{\rm mag}=-(dM/dT)/C$. Within the Fermi liquid regime, $Γ_{\rm mag}=-G_r(H-H_c^{fit})$ with $G_r=-0.30\pm 0.01$ and $H_c^{fit}=(0.065\pm 0.005)$ T which is consistent with scaling behavior of the specific-heat coefficient in YbRh$_2$(Si$_{0.95}$Ge$_{0.05}$)$_2$. The field-dependence of $dM/dT$ indicates an inflection point of the entropy as a function of magnetic field upon passing the line $T^\star(H)$ previously observed in Hall- and thermodynamic measurements.
4 pages, 3 Figures