Near coincidence of metal-insulator transition and quantum critical fluctuations: Electronic ground state and magnetic order in Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$Si

Abstract

We present a detailed study of the electronic and magnetic ground state properties of Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$Si using a combination of macroscopic and microscopic experimental techniques. From these experiments we quantitatively characterize the metal-insulator transition and magnetic/non-magnetic quantum phase transition occurring at low doping levels in Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$Si. From our study, we find a surprising closeness of the critical composition of the metal-insulator transition at $x_{\mathrm{MIT}} = 0.014$ and the quantum phase transition at $x_{\mathrm{LRO}} \sim 0.024-0.031$. It suggests that these effects are cooperative and depend on each other.