Origin of the non-Fermi-liquid behavior in CeRh2As2

Unconventional superconductivity in heavy-fermion systems appears often near magnetic quantum critical points (QCPs). This seems to be the case also for CeRh2As2 (Tc ≈0.31 K). CeRh2As2 shows two superconducting (SC) phases, SC1 and SC2, for a magnetic field along the c axis of the tetragonal unit cell, but only the SC1 phase is observed for a field along the basal plane. Furthermore, another ordered state (phase I) is observed below T0≈0.48K whose nature is still unclear: Thermodynamic and magnetic measurements pointed to a nonmagnetic multipolar state, but recent µSR and nuclear quadrupole resonance/nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments have clearly detected antiferromagnetic (AFM) order below T0. Also, quasi-two-dimensional AFM fluctuations were observed in NMR and neutron-scattering experiments above T0. The proximity of a QCP is indicated by non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior observed above the ordered states in both specific heat C(T)/T∝T−0.6 and resistivity ρ(T)∝T. These T dependencies are not compatible with any generic AFM QCP. Because of the strong magnetic-field anisotropy of both the SC phase and phase I, it is possible to study a field-induced SC QCP as well as a phase-I QCP by varying the angle α between the field and the c axis. Thus, by examining the behavior of the electronic specific-heat coefficient C(T)/T across these QCPs, we can determine which phase is associated with the NFL behavior. Here, we present low-temperature specific-heat measurements taken in a magnetic field as high as 21 T applied at several angles α. We observe that the NFL behavior very weakly depends on the field and the angle α, a result that is at odds with observations in standard magnetic QCPs. This suggests a nonmagnetic origin of the quantum critical fluctuations. Published by the American Physical Society 2025