Strange metallicity in the Kagome metal Ni$_3$In: a DMFT investigation

Abstract

Strange metallicity, characterized by a linear temperature dependence of the resistivity, is observed in a broad range of correlated materials, including heavy-fermion compounds and cuprate superconductors. It has also recently been reported for the Kagome metal Ni$_3$In, where almost localized and itinerant electronic degrees of freedom coexist as a result of a partially flat band. We investigate the correlated electronic structure and transport properties of Ni$_3$In with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculations performed on a minimal single-band Hubbard model, constructed from compact molecular orbitals. Despite the large band filling, even for moderate Hubbard repulsion, we observe a non-Fermi-liquid like frequency dependence of the self-energy, as well as the formation of local magnetic moments. With increased hole doping, a crossover to a heavy Fermi-liquid regime is found. We interpret these results in terms of an effective model for the partially filled narrow band near $k_z=0$.