Bilayer 3He: A simple two-dimensional heavy-fermion system with quantum criticality

Abstract

Two-dimensional helium-3 (3He) provides a simple model for the experimental investigation of the emergence of quantum complexity in a strongly correlated Fermi system. We have observed two-dimensional, two-band heavy-fermion behavior in bilayer films of 3He atoms when adsorbed on the surface of graphite preplated by a solid bilayer of 4He. Thermodynamic measurements on this system showed that the relevant control parameter is the total density of the 3He film. The 3He bilayer system can be driven toward a quantum critical point at which the effective mass appears to diverge, interband coupling vanishes, and a local-moment state appears. It opens a new testing ground for theories of quantum criticality in heavy-fermion materials.