Concurrence of directional Kondo transport and incommensurate magnetic order in the layered material AgCrSe2

Abstract

In this work, we report on the concurrent emergence of the directional Kondo behavior and incommensurate magnetic ordering in a layered material. We employ temperature- and magnetic field-dependent resistivity measurements, susceptibility measurements, and high resolution wavelength X-ray diffraction spectroscopy to study the electronic properties of AgCrSe2. Impurity Kondo behavior with a characteristic temperature of TK = 32 K is identified through quantitative analysis of the in-plane resistivity, substantiated by magneto-transport measurements. The excellent agreement between our experimental data and the Schlottmann’s scaling theory allows us to determine the impurity spin as S = 3/2. Furthermore, we discuss the origin of the Kondo behavior and its relation to the material’s antiferromagnetic transition. Our study uncovers a rare phenomenon—the equivalence of the Néel temperature and the Kondo temperature—paving the way for further investigations into the intricate interplay between impurity physics and magnetic phenomena in quantum materials, with potential applications in advanced electronic and magnetic devices. This study reports on the simultaneous emergence of the impurity Kondo effect and incommensurate magnetic ordering in the layered material AgCrSe2 these usually mutually exclusive phenomena complement each other. The ability to enable Kondo effect in association with the antiferromagnetic order, provides a novel route to tune the competition between magnetic correlations and Kondo screening.