Hidden Order and Nexus between Quantum Criticality and
Phase Formation: The Case of URu2Si2
John Mydosh
KOL, Leiden & Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Nöthnitzer Strasse 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany
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We present a brief overview of two intriguing phenomena that appear in pure and tuned URu2Si2.
Although studied for many years the classical (temperature driven) phase transition at 17.5K
remains hidden, i.e., unknown order parameter, thus the term "hidden order". This phase can be
modified or tuned by pressure (creation of a good Ising antiferromagnet), magnetic field (creation
of a series of novel phases related to a metamagnetically driven quantum critical point), and
Rh-doping (creation of a single phase embedded in a Fermi liquid at both lower and higher fields).
We interpret the latter transition as the avoidance of the quantum critical point by the formation of
a new phase.
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