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The Kondo Eect

Marc Alomar, Yuxuan Chen and Rex Lundgren


Department of Physics,
The University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, TX 78712,
USA
In this report, we study the Kondo eect problem. First, an eective Hamiltonian
is derived from an Anderson impurity model. Then, by considering the eect of the
magnetic impurities perturbatively, we show that the resistivity diverges at second order
at low tempertures. Finally, we study the non-perturbative eects of the magnetic
impurity, using the renormalization group method.
The resistivity of pure metals usually drops as its tem-
perature is lowered. However, when magnetic impurities
are added, the low-temperature behavior changes dra-
matically: the resistivity reaches a minimum, and then
increases as the temperature is lowered further. This
phenomenon was rst observed in the 1930s
1
, but it was
not until 1964 when a theoretical explanation was given
by J. Kondo.
2
The eect was described in terms of the
exchange interaction between a localized magnetic mo-
ment and the conduction electrons, and Kondo used a
perturbative approach to nd the resistance minimum.
However, his theory predicted a divergence at T 0,
inconsistent with the experimental results. The correct
explanation at low temperature was given by Anderson
using the method of the renormalization group.
3
In this report we study the Kondo eect using the tech-
niques of many-body theory. In section I, we study how
the sd-Hamiltonian is obtained from the Anderson im-
purity model. In section II, we use second-order pertur-
bation theory to obtain the temperature dependence of
the resistivity. We nd that this analysis is only valid up
to the characteristic Kondo temperature, T
K
. Finally, in
section III we use the Poor mans scaling approach to
understand the behavior below T
K
.
I. MODEL HAMILTONIAN
In this section we derive the sd-Hamiltonian from the
Anderson impurity model. The Anderson Hamiltonian is
given by
H =

k
_

k
c

k
c
k
+
_
V
k
d

c
k
+ h.c.
_
_
+

d
n
d
+ Un
d
n
d
(1)
1
W. J. de Haas et al., Physica 1, 1115 (1934)
2
J. Kondo, Prog. Theor. Phys. 32, 37 (1964)
3
P. W. Anderson, J. Phys. C 3, 2436 (1970)
where the operators d

create electrons of spin at the


localized impurity, and c

k
creates an itinerant electron
of spin and energy
k
in the metallic host. The total
wavefunction of the Hamiltonian, |, can be written as
the sum of three terms, |
0
, |
1
and |
2
, where the
subscript refers to the occupancy of the impurity site.
Using this decomposition, we can write the Schrodinger
equation in matrix form,
2

n=0
H
mn
|
n
= E |
m
(2)
where H
mn
= P
m
HP
n
. The operators P
n
are the projec-
tors onto the subspace with n electrons on the impurity
site. They satisfy the relation P
0
+P
1
+P
2
= 1, and are
given by
_

_
P
0
=

(1 n
d
)
P
1
= 1 P
0
P
2
P
2
= n
d
n
d
(3)
Now, lets nd the matrix elements H
mn
. The diagonal
elements leave the occupation number xed, and they can
be identied with the diagonal terms of the Anderson
Hamiltonian,
_

_
H
00
=

k

k
c

k
c
k
H
11
=

k

k
c

k
c
k
+
d
H
22
=

k

k
c

k
c
k
+ 2
d
+ U
(4)
The o-diagonal terms are due to the hybridization
term of the Hamiltonian, H
hyb
=

k
(V
k
d

c
k
+ h.c.).
This term only contains one d

operator, and therefore it


can only connect states that dier by one impurity elec-
tron. For this reason, H
20
= H
02
= 0. The other matrix
elements can be found using the explicit expressions of
P
0
and P
2
,
2
H
10
= P
1
H
hyb
P
0
= (1 P
2
P
0
)H
hyb
P
0
= H
hyb
P
0
=

k
V
k
d

c
k
(1 n
d
)(1 n
d
) =

k
V
k
d

c
k
(1 n
d
)
(5)
H
21
= P
2
H
hyb
P
1
= P
2
H
hyb
(1 P
0
P
2
) = P
2
H
hyb
=

k
V
k
n
d
n
d
d

c
k
=

k
V
k
d

n
d
c
k
(6)
where we have used n
d
n
d
d

= n
d
d

n
d
= d

n
d
and
n
d
n
d
d

= d

n
d
. The other matrix elements follow
from H
mn
= H

nm
,
_
H
01
=

k
V

k
c

k
(1 n
d
)d

H
12
=

k
V

k
c

k
n
d
d

(7)
We are interested in the eect of virtual excitations
from the |
1
subspace. Thus, we have to write (2) only
in terms of |
1
. Writing out (2),
H
00
|
0
+ H
01
|
1
= E |
0

H
21
|
1
+ H
22
|
2
= E |
2
(8)
we can formally dene |
0
and |
2
in terms of |
1
,
(E H
00
)
1
H
01
|
1
= |
0

(E H
22
)
1
H
21
|
1
= |
2
(9)
Now we have
E |
1
= H
10
|
0
+ H
11
|
1
+ H
12
|
2

= [H
10
1
E H
00
H
01
+ H
11
+ H
12
1
E H
22
H
21
] |
1

(10)
In order to simplify the above expression we have to
commute the terms (EH)
1
and H. First, we commute
only the matrix elements,
H
00
H
01
=

kk

V

k

k
n
k
c
k

(1 n
d
) d

kk

V

k

k
c

k
(
kk

c
k
)(1 n
d
)d

(11)
Cleaning up this expression gives
H
00
H
01
=

V

k

k
c

(1 n
d
)d

kk

V

k

k
c

k
c

c
k
(1 n
d
)d

= H
01
(
k
+ H
00
)
(12)
One can do the same thing for H
00
H
21
.
H
00
H
21
=

kk

V
k

k
n
k
d

n
d
c
k

kk

V
k

k
d

n
d
(
kk

c
k

k
)c
k
(13)
Cleaning up this expression as done with H
00
H
01
gives
H
00
H
21
=

kk

V
k
d

n
d
c
k

(
k
+ H
00
) =
H
21
(
k
+ H
00
) (14)
Using the above expressions its straightforward to ob-
tain
(E H
00
)
1
H
01
=

kk

V

k
c
k

(1 n
d
)d

(E
k
H
00
)
1
=

kk

V

k

(1 n
d
)d

k

d
(1
E
d
H
00

k

d
)
1

kk

V

k

(1 n
d
)d

k

d
(15)
and
(E H
22
)
1
H
21
= H
21
(E +
k
H
22
)
1
=

kk

V
k
d

n
d
c
k

(E U 2
d
H
00
+
k
)
1
=

kk

V
k

n
d

c
k

U +
d

_
1
E
d
H
00
U +
d

_
1

kk

V
k

n
d

c
k

U +
d

(16)
where we have expanded the expressions in parentheses
to leading order in U and
d
. Plugging these expressions
in (10) we get
3
E H
11

kk

[V
k
V

k
d

(1 n
d
)c
k
c

(1 n
d
)d

k

d
+
+V
k
V

k

k
n
d
d

n
d
c
k

U +
d

]
(17)
The one-particle terms n
d
can be dropped, because
they act on a single-particle subspace. If we swap k and
k

in the rst term, we obtain


EH
11
=

kk

V
k
V

k

_
d

c
k

k
d

d
+
c

k
d

c
k

U +
d

_
(18)
Finally, using the fermonic commutation relations we
obtain
E H
11
=

kk

V
k
V

k
[
(

k
c
k

)d

d
+
c

k
c
k

)
U +
d

] =

kk

V
k
V

k
(
1
U +
d

+
+
1

d
)c

k
c
k

kk

(
c

k
c
k

U +
d

n
d

d
)
(19)
The last term in the second parenthesis is a constant,
and can be absorbed into a shift of the single-particle
energy of the itinerant electron. This expression can be
related to the spin operators by using the Pauli identity,

= 2

(20)
In particular, we can rewrite

k
c
k

k
c
k

=
1
2

k
c
k

)
=
1
2

c
k

+
1
2

k
c
k

n
d

= 2s
kk
S
d
+
1
2

k
c
k

n
d
(21)
where S
d
=
1
2

is the impurity spin and


s
kk
=

c
k

is the conduction electron spin.


Using this result, we can nally write
E H
11
=

kk

J
kk

_
2s
kk
S
d
+
1
2

k
c
k

n
d

kk

V
k
V

k

k
c
k

U +
d

kk

_
2J
kk
s
kk
S
d
+ K
kk

k
c
k

_
(22)
where
_
_
_
J
kk
= V
k
V

k

_
1

d
+
1
U+
d

_
K
kk
=
V
k
V

k

2
_
1

1
U+
d

_
(23)
The total eective Hamiltonian acting on the subspace
|
1
is
H
eff
=

k
c

k
c
k
+

kk

_
2J
kk
s
kk
S
d
+ K
kk

k
c
k

_
(24)
The energy scale of the typical excitations is much
smaller than U +
d
and
d
. Thus, we can neglect the
energy dependence of J
kk
and K
kk
. In that case, the
interaction J
kk
can be treated as local, and the scatter-
ing term K
kk
can be absorbed into a shift of the single-
particle energy of the itinerant electron. These approxi-
mations lead to the sd-Hamiltonian,
H
sd
=

k
c

k
c
k
+ 2JS
d
s(r = 0) (25)
II. IMPURITY SCATTERING
The goal of the this section is to calculate the eect
of magnetic impurties on transport properties. To do so,
we calculate the scattering rate. This is given by
1
2
= N
imp

< | < k, |T
+
()|k

> |
2
>
s
(
k

k
)
(26)
where T is the T-matrix. This formula is derived in
problem 5.5.3 and the T is given by
T
n
< H
imp
+ H
imp
G
0,n
H
imp
+ ... > (27)
4
where n is the Matsubara frequency. This equation is
simply Fermis Golden Rule. Once we obtain the scatter-
ing time, we can estimate the resistivity via the Drude
formula = m/e
2
n, where n is the electron density.
A. First Order Correction
To rst order T = H
imp
. Now we work out the Matrix
element. First we use the fact that
< k

|H
imp
|k, >= JL
d
< |S |

> (28)
Plugging this into the formula for T gives
1
2
= N
imp
J
2
L
2d

(< |S |

><

|S | >)

(
k

k
) =
c
imp
J
2
<< |S S | >>
s
=
J
2
S(S + 1)c
imp

(29)
Here we have used the fact

k
(
k

k
) = L
d
and
<< |S S | >>
s
= S(S +1) 1. We have also used
the fact
<< |S S | >>
s
=<< (S
2
S ) >>
s
(30)
In this model the average occupation number is 1, so
the spin is
1
2
, thus the linear term is zero in thise case
since the S =
1
2
terms cancel each other out.
Thus the rst order correction is
1
2
= J
2
S(S + 1)c
imp
(31)
The key result here is that it does not explain the ex-
istence of a resistance minimum
B. Second Order Perturbation Theory
We now turn to second order perturbation theory. In
this case the scattering matrix is given by
T
(2)
= H
imp
( H
0
)
1
H
imp
(32)
In order to get the matrix element we rst calculate
H|k, >= H
imp
c

k
| >= 2JS sc

k
| >. s is the spin
of the conduction electron and | > is the Fermi Sea.
Plugging in what s is in term of operators give
J

k1,k2

1,2
S
1,2
c

k11
c
k22
c

k
| >=
J

k1,1
S
1,
c

k1,1
| >
J

k1,k2

1,2
S
1,2
c

k11
c

k
c
k22
| > (33)
Because | > is the Fermi sea, c

k11
is non-zero when
k
1
is greater then k
f
. We also have k
2
< k
f
and k
1
, k >
k
f
in the second term. This term is a combination of
one-particle and two-particle-one-hole excitations.
Looking at the matrix element now, we can see that
the cross terms between one and two particles will be
zero. Lets look at the one-particle term rst. This gives
J
2
< |

k11
(S

1
)c
k

1
1

+
H
0
S (
,1
)c

k11
| >
(34)
Focusing on the denominator we see
1

+
H
0
c

k1,1
| >=
1

k1
c

k1,1
| > (35)
The previous term becomes
J
2
< |

k11
(S

1
)(S
,1
)
c
k

1
c

k11

+
H
0
| >
(36)
Using the commutation relations
c
k

1
,

1
c

k11
=
k

1
,k1;

1
,
c

k11
c
k

1
,

1
(37)
and the fact that the second term vanishes because it
counts the number of particles above the fermi sea, which
is zero, this becomes
J
2
(S

1
)(S
,1
)

k1
(
k1
)

k1
(38)
One can follow similar steps for the two particle term.
This is done in the appendix. It is given by
J
2
(S

)(S

p
(
p
)

p
(39)
Thus the total matrix element is
5
FIG. 1 Two possible diagrams for the matrix element.
J
2
((S

)(S

k1
(
k1
)

k1
+
(S

)(S

p
(
p
)

p
) (40)
The next step is to evaluate some of these spin terms.
(S

)(S

) = S
j

S
i

=
S
i
S
j
(
i

j
)

= S
i
S
j
(
ij

ijk

k
)

=
S
2

S (41)
One can follow similar steps for the other spin term for
the two particle part of the matrix element. Therefore
the matrix element can be written as
J
2
((S
2

S)

p
(
p
)

p
+
(S
2

S)

p
(
p
)

p
) (42)
One can simplify and combine these two equations to
get
J
2
((S(S + 1)

p
(
p
) + (
p
)

p
+

S)

p
(
p
) (
p
)

p
) (43)
At nite temperature (E) = n
f
(E) and (E) =
1 n
f
(E) and we can even further simpilfy the matrix
element to
< k

|T
(2)
|k, >= J
2

p
1

p
(S(S + 1)

+
+(2n
f
(
p
) 1)

S)
(44)
The rst term is dropped because it is a non-singular
constant with no dependance on temperature. Rewriting
2n
f
(
p
) 1 = tanh(
p
/2) and squaring gives
| < k

|T
(2)
|k, > |
2
=
J
2
(

p
tanh(
p
2
)

p
)
2
(< (S )
2
>
s
=
J
2
(

p
tanh(
p
2
)

p
)
2
S(S + 1)
Now we approximate this integral. Using
p
and

p

_
gives

p
tanh(
p
2
)

p
=
_
D
D
d
tanh(

2
)

k
2ln(
D
k
b
T
) (45)
We notice that we can now write an eective J as
J
eff
= J(1 + 2ln(
D
k
b
T
)) (46)
Finally combining the rst and second order pertuba-
tions give
1
2
= c
imp
J
2
eff
S(S + 1) =
1
2
0
(1 4Jln(
T
D
))
(47)
Thus, we see when T=0 this diverges.
III. RENORMALIZATION GROUP
The model we consider is s-d Hamiltonian. One can de-
rive it from the Anderson Impurity Hamiltonian as seen
in an eariler section. This is the subject of Problem 2.4
in Atland and Simons. The Hamiltonian is given by
H =

k
c

k
c
k
+

kk

J
z
S
z
(c

k
c
k

k
c
k

)+
J
+
S
+
c

k
c
k

+ J

k
c
k

(48)
where S represents the spin of the impurity electron.
This model allows for possible anisotropy. Lets consider
6
removing degrees of freedom at the top of the conduc-
tion band in a region D/b < |
k
| < D where D is the
conduction bandwidth and b > 1. Following problem 2.4
we can use projection operators and can come up with
an eective Hamiltonian for the case when no conduction
electrons are in the high energy portion the conduciton
band. This allows us to see virtual ucations to the high
energy part of the electron band. The Schodinger equa-
tion for the wavefunction with no conduction electrons,
|
1
> is
(H
10
1
E H
00
H
01
+ H
11
+ H
12
1
E H
22
H
21
)|
1
>= E|
1
>
(49)
Where H
mn
= P
m
HP
n
, where P
m
is the projection
operator. Let us focus on the term that scatters a con-
duction electron in the upper region of the band.
H
12
1
E H
22
H
21
|
1
> (50)
There are eight possible terms that arise from this
term. One can see these eight terms from Feynman di-
agrams.The allowed terms must take return to the sub-
space where the high-energy part of the conduction band
remains unoccupied. Some of these processes involve
spin-ips. An example of one term is
J
+
J

s
ksk
f
S

c
k
f

1
E H
22
S
+
c

k
f

c
ks
|
1
> (51)
where k
f
lies withn the band edge and k
s
lies outside
the band edge.
A. Deriving RG Equations
Lets clean up this term. Lets look at

k
f
c

c
k
f

1
E H
22
c

k
f

c
ks
|
1
> (52)
Next we use that fact that the wavefunction has no
electrons in the upper conduction band. Thus c
kf
c

k
f

=
1 and we are left with a sum over k
f
. We also assume

k
f
D. We can evaluate this sum using the density of
states.

k
f
=
_
D
D/b
d()
0
D(1 1/b) (53)
Thus we arrive at

k
f
c

c
k
f

1
E H
22
c

k
f

c
ks
|
1
>

0
D(1 1/b)c

c
ks
1
E H
22
|
1
>

0
D(1 1/b)c

c
ks
1
E D +
ks
H
0
|
1
> (54)
where H
0
is the energy of the electrons in the band
without the impurity. Thus we have
J
+
J

s
ks

0
D(1 1/b)c

c
ks
S

S
+
E D +
ks
H
0
|
1
>
(55)
Next we approximate H
0
as zero and we use the spin
commutation relations to obtain
J
+
J

s
ks

0
D(1 1/b)(1/2 S
z
)c

c
ks
1
E D +
ks
|
1
>
(56)
Doing this for the other eight equations give J as a
function of b. The two equations ares
J

(b) = J

J
z
J

0
D(1 1/b)(
1
E D +
k
+
1
E D +
k

) (57)
J
z
(b) = J
z
J
+
J

0
D(1 1/b)(
1
E D +
k
+
1
E D +
k

) (58)
Next we ignore E compared to D and since typical
internal excitations small compared to D we can approx-
imate these as
J

(b) = J

+ 2J
z
J

0
(1 1/b) (59)
J
z
(b) = J
z
+ 2J
+
J

0
(1 1/b) (60)
These give the renormalization group equations
dJ

dl
= 2
0
J
z
J

(61)
and
dJ
z
dl
= 2
0
J
+
J

(62)
7
FIG. 2 RG Flow.
B. Analysis of RG equations
One notes we can divide the dierence equations to
obtain
dJ

dJ
z
=
J
z
J

(63)
One can integrate these equations to obtain
J
2
z
J
2

= constant. (64)
It is important to note that J
z
always increases under
renormalization. Thus when |J
z
| < J

, J

will scale
to zero. If |J
z
| > J

, both will ow to strong coupling


where the perturbation theory breaks down. A gure of
the RG ow is shown in Fig 2.
For J
z
= J

= J the scaling equation becomes


dJ/dl = 2
0
J
2
. Integrating this equation gives
1
J

1
J(l)
= 2
0
l = 2
0
ln(
D(l)
D
) (65)
Therefore, we have
Dexp(
1

0
J
) = D(l)exp(
1

0
J(l)
) = k
b
T
k
(66)
where T
k
is the Kondo Temperature. Thus when T =
T
k
we have scale invariance. We can write J as
J =
J
0
1 + J
0
ln(
D
D0
)
(67)
and we see it will diverege when you are at an energy
scale of T
k
. However one must keep in mind this ap-
poarch is only valid for small J and keeping corrections
will change the function.
FIG. 3 Screening by a magnetic impurity.
C. Large Coupling Limit
Finally we conclude with a few words about the large
coupling limit, which is predicted by RG ow. In the
large J limit, the Hamiltonian of the system is just
H =

kk

J
z
S
z
(c

k
c
k

k
c
k

)+
J
+
S
+
c

k
c
k

+ J

k
c
k

(68)
In this case the impurity spin and some of the conduc-
tion electrons form a spin singlet state, with each con-
duction electron contrubting a fraction of its total spin.
A physical picture of this eect is imagining the spin
impurity surrounded by a sea of conduction electrons of
opposite, but smaller spin. This is seen in Fig 3.
Thus the spin impurity is screened and has a screening
length, which one can determine from the Kondo Tem-
perature. This length scale or radius of the cloud is given
by R
k
v
f
/k
b
T
k
.
D. Exact Solutions
We close this report by mentioning some exact meth-
ods to investigate the large J limit exactly. There
are two common approachs to the Large J limit,
Numerical Renormalization Group pioneered by Wil-
son and the Bethe Ansatz. Both of these, along
with other methods, are discussed in Hewsons book,
The Kondo Problem to Heavy Fermions.
8
IV. WORK DONE BY GROUP MEMBERS
Marc Alomar worked on the introduction and Section
1. Yuxuan Chen worked on Section 2. Rex Lundgren
worked on Section 3.
V. APPENDIX
In the Appendix, we derive the two particle overlap,
that is needed to calculate the scattering time. It is given
by

k1,k2,k

1
,k

1,2,

1
,

2
J
2
< |(S

2
,

1
)(S
1,2
)c

2
c
k

c
k

1
1

+
H
0
c

k11
c

k
c
k22
| >
Now we look at how the rst three states act on the
Fermi Sea.
1

+
H
0
c

k11
c

k
c
k22
| >=
c

k11
c

k
c
k22

k
(
k1
+
k

k2
)
| >
(69)
Plugging this in gives

k1,k2,k

1
,k

1,2,

1
,

2
J
2
(S

2
,

1
)(S
1,2
)
< |c

2
c
k

c
k

1
c

k11
c

k
c
k22
| >

k
(
k1
+
k

k2
)
Now the goal is to evaluate the six operator piece. To
do this, rst look at
c
k

c
k

1
c

k11
c

k
= c
k

1
c
k

k11
c

k
=
c
k

1
(
k1,k

1
;1
c

k11
c
k

)c

k
(70)
one can continue moving particles past and arrive at
c
k

c
k

1
c

k11
c

k
=
k1,k

1
;1,

k

1
,k1;

1
,
+
k1,k

1
;1,

k,k

;,

(71)
One can then ignore the second term because it doesnt
not contribute to scattering (it is possible however that
it will renormalize single-particle energy but it will not
depend on temperature), and thus we see the matrix el-
ement is
J
2
(S

)(S

p
(
p
)

p
(72)

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