Kondo entanglement in the quasi-two-dimensional heavy fermion compound CeSb2

Abstract

In the heavy fermion system, development of the Kondo coherence usually occurs as a crossover behavior. However, accurate definition of the onset temperature for complete formation of the heavy quasiparticles is to some extent controversial. Here, the electronic structure of the quasi-two-dimensional Kondo lattice ${\mathrm{CeSb}}_{2}$ has been studied by high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and dynamical mean-field theory approach combined with density functional theory. A heavy quasiparticle band, which originates from the hybridization between $f$ electrons and conduction electrons, has been observed directly. Moreover, temperature-dependent electronic structure study reveals a transition from high-temperature local spins to low-temperature itinerant electrons in ${\mathrm{CeSb}}_{2}$ and the onset temperature of the hybridized c-f spectral weight revealed by laser-ARPES is consistent with the crossover temperature from transport and magnetic measurements. Our findings are essential for a microscopic understanding of different energy scales in the heavy fermion system and demonstrate the probability of laser-ARPES in studying the bulk 4f-electron properties of Ce-based compounds.