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Thermodynamics in a split Hilbert space: Quantum impurity at the edge of a one-dimensional superconductor

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2025-08-28 v1 Superconductivity High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics math.MP Quantum Physics

Abstract

We present a thermodynamic description of a single magnetic impurity at the edge of a superconducting wire. The impurity exhibits four phases \unicodex2014\unicode{x2014} Kondo, Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) I and II, and local moment \unicodex2014\unicode{x2014} a phase diagram richer than in the gapless case, contrary to the expectation that the effects of impurities in gapped hosts are less consequential. We derive the impurity contribution to free energy Fimp(T)F_{\rm imp}(T) and entropy in each phase: in Kondo phase, the entropy flows monotonically from ln2\ln 2 (UV) to 0 (IR) with critical exponents same as that of the conventional Kondo model; in YSR phases, thermal activation of a midgap bound state produces entropy overshoots above ln2\ln 2, saturating to ln2\ln 2 at high TT and approaching either 0 or ln2\ln 2 at low TT depending on whether impurity is screened or not; in the local-moment phase the impurity remains effectively decoupled, with entropy near ln2\ln 2, with some intermediate-temperature features that progressively fade as δ0\delta \to 0. These behaviors, including the entropy overshoots in the YSR and local-moment phases, stem from a splitting of the Hilbert space into distinct excitation towers: one in the Kondo phase, two in YSR~I, and three in YSR~II and the local-moment phase. Resolving these tower structures and thereby going beyond conventional TBA yields closed-form analytic expressions for the impurity contribution to the free energy and entropy across the entire phase diagram.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2508.19330,
  title  = {Thermodynamics in a split Hilbert space: Quantum impurity at the edge of a one-dimensional superconductor},
  author = {Pradip Kattel and Abay Zhakenov and Natan Andrei},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.19330},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

5+22 pages, 3+9 figures