Solution of the two-impurity Kondo model: critical point, Fermi-liquid phase, and crossover

Abstract

An asymptotically exact solution is presented for the two-impurity Kondo model for a finite region of the parameter space surrounding the critical point. This region is located in the most interesting intermediate regime where RKKY interaction is comparable to the Kondo temperature. After several exact simplifications involving reduction to one dimension and abelian bosonization, the critical point is explicitly identified, making clear its physical origin. By using controlled low energy projection, an effective Hamiltonian is mapped out for the finite region in the phase diagram around the critical point. The completeness of the effective Hamiltonian is rigorously proved from general symmetry considerations. The effective Hamiltonian is solved exactly not only at the critical point but also for the surrounding Fermi-liquid phase. Analytic crossover functions from the critical to Fermi-liquid behavior are derived for the specific heat and staggered susceptibility. It is shown that applying a uniform magnetic field has negligible effect on the critical behavior.