Large and small Fermi-surface spin density waves in the Kondo lattice model

Abstract

We demonstrate the existence of metallic spin density waves (SDWs) in the Kondo lattice model on a square lattice for a wide range of parameters by means of real space dynamical mean-field theory. In these SDWs, the spin polarization as well as the charge density depend on the lattice site and are modulated along one direction of the square lattice. We show that within this phase of metallic SDWs the Fermi surface changes from small to large, when the coupling strength is increased. Furthermore, the transition between the large Fermi-surface SDW phase and the paramagnetic phase is of second order, while the transition between the small Fermi-surface SDW phase and the paramagnetic phase is of first order. A local quantum critical point is thus avoided in our calculations by undergoing a first-order phase transition.