Kondo Effect in High-T_c Cuprates

Abstract

We study the Kondo effect due to the nonmagnetic impurity, e.g., Zn, in high-T_c cuprates based on the spin-change separated state. In the optimal or overdoped case with the Kondo screening, the residual resistivity is dominated by the spinons while the T-dependent part determined by the holons. This gives $\rho(T) = { {4 \hbar} /{e^2}} { { n_{imp.}} /{(1-x)}} + {{\alpha T} / x}$ (x: hole concentration,$n_{imp.}$: impurity concentration, $\alpha$: constant ), which is in agreement with experiments. In the underdoped region with the pseudo spin gap, an SU(2) formulation predicts that the holon phase shift is related to the formation of the local spin moment, and hence the residual resistivity is given by $\rho_{res.} = { {4 \hbar} /{ e^2}} { { n_{imp.}}/{x}} $, which is also consistent with the experiments. The magnetic impurity case, e.g., Ni, is also discussed.