Boston University

Title: Griffiths-McCoy singularities in U and Ce intermetallics: a possible route for non-Fermi liquid behavior in metals

Abstract: In this talk we propose an explanation for the failure of Landau's Fermi liquid theory in a broad class of three dimensional metallic alloys in which rare earths or actinides are present. We argue that the strong interplay between disorder and quantum fluctuations in these systems lead to the presence of Griffiths singularities in the response functions. It is proposed that the competition between the Kondo effect and the magnetic interactions (RKKY) drive the systems through a magnetic quantum critical point. We show that because of the metallic background the Griffiths-McCoy singularities are rather different from the ones in insulating magnets. We compare our results with recent experiments and show that a rather large class of systems maybe explained by our theory.