Nodal hybridization in a two-dimensional heavy-fermion material
Metals with partially filled core atomic shells can form quasiparticles at a low temperature arising from the hybridization of the core level and conduction electrons. The thermodynamic and spectroscopic properties of these metals can be understood as those of a simple metal, but with a significant mass enhancement over the free electron mass—commonly referred to as heavy fermions. In most heavy-fermion materials, the hybridization is approximately isotropic in position and momentum space. However, a combination of low dimensionality and symmetry properties of the core-level wavefunctions can give rise to highly anisotropic electronic interactions with the conduction electrons. Here, in this study, we demonstrate anisotropic hybridization that vanishes along specific directions in momentum space—referred to as nodes—in a lanthanide-based two-dimensional van der Waals heavy-fermion compound, CeSiI. Quasiparticle interference measurements reveal a set of discrete hotspots with high spectral intensity on the Fermi surface. Theoretical modelling and comparison with the quasiparticle interference pattern of the non-heavy-fermion isostructural analogue LaSiI suggest that these features arise from an unconventional electron interaction involving hybridization nodes unique to CeSiI. As a result, the effective mass of the quasiparticles varies by orders of magnitude depending on their direction in momentum space.