Proximity to a critical point driven by electronic entropy in URu2Si2

Abstract

Abstract The strongly correlated actinide metal URu2Si2 exhibits a mean field-like second order phase transition at T o ≈ 17 K, yet lacks definitive signatures of a broken symmetry. Meanwhile, various experiments have also shown the electronic energy gap to closely resemble that resulting from hybridization between conduction electron and 5f-electron states. We argue here, using thermodynamic measurements, that the above seemingly incompatible observations can be jointly understood by way of proximity to an entropy-driven critical point, in which the latent heat of a valence-type electronic instability is quenched by thermal excitations across a gap, driving the transition second order. Salient features of such a transition include a robust gap spanning highly degenerate features in the electronic density of states, that is weakly (if at all) suppressed by temperature on approaching T o, and an elliptical phase boundary in magnetic field and temperature that is Pauli paramagnetically limited at its critical magnetic field.