Strange metallicity in the Kagome metal Ni₃In: a DMFT investigation
Pith reviewed 2026-05-21 03:23 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
DMFT on a minimal model shows non-Fermi liquid self-energy and local moments in Ni3In even at moderate repulsion.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Despite the large band filling, even for moderate Hubbard repulsion, we observe a non-Fermi-liquid like frequency dependence of the self-energy, as well as the formation of local magnetic moments. With increased hole doping, a crossover to a heavy Fermi-liquid regime is found. We interpret these results in terms of an effective model for the partially filled narrow band near kz=0.
What carries the argument
Minimal single-band Hubbard model constructed from compact molecular orbitals, focused on the partially filled narrow band near kz=0.
If this is right
- The self-energy displays non-Fermi-liquid frequency dependence at moderate interaction strength.
- Local magnetic moments appear even though the band is nearly filled.
- Hole doping produces a crossover into a heavy Fermi-liquid regime with heavier quasiparticles.
- Transport quantities inherit the strange-metallic temperature dependence from the underlying self-energy.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same minimal-model approach may apply to other kagome compounds that host partially flat bands near the Fermi level.
- Adding inter-orbital hybridization or longer-range interactions could shift the doping value at which the Fermi-liquid crossover occurs.
- Resistivity or specific-heat measurements on doped Ni3In samples would provide a direct experimental check on the predicted regime change.
Load-bearing premise
The essential physics of Ni3In is captured by a minimal single-band Hubbard model constructed from compact molecular orbitals that focuses on the partially filled narrow band near kz=0.
What would settle it
Observation of a doping-driven change from linear to quadratic temperature dependence in resistivity, or the disappearance of local-moment signatures in spectroscopy, would test whether the predicted crossover to heavy Fermi-liquid behavior occurs.
Figures
read the original abstract
Strange metallicity, characterized by a linear temperature dependence of the resistivity, is observed in a broad range of correlated materials, including heavy-fermion compounds and cuprate superconductors. It has also recently been reported for the Kagome metal Ni$_3$In, where almost localized and itinerant electronic degrees of freedom coexist as a result of a partially flat band. We investigate the correlated electronic structure and transport properties of Ni$_3$In with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculations performed on a minimal single-band Hubbard model, constructed from compact molecular orbitals. Despite the large band filling, even for moderate Hubbard repulsion, we observe a non-Fermi-liquid like frequency dependence of the self-energy, as well as the formation of local magnetic moments. With increased hole doping, a crossover to a heavy Fermi-liquid regime is found. We interpret these results in terms of an effective model for the partially filled narrow band near $k_z=0$.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript investigates strange metallicity in the Kagome metal Ni3In via DMFT on a minimal single-band Hubbard model built from compact molecular orbitals that isolate the partially filled narrow band near kz=0. It reports that moderate Hubbard repulsion U produces non-Fermi-liquid frequency dependence of the self-energy and local magnetic moments despite large band filling, with increased hole doping driving a crossover to a heavy Fermi-liquid regime.
Significance. If the minimal-model approximation holds, the work supplies a concrete effective description linking the narrow band to the observed coexistence of localized and itinerant degrees of freedom and to the linear-T resistivity in Ni3In. It thereby offers a transferable framework for other Kagome systems in which flat-band remnants and doping control non-Fermi-liquid transport.
major comments (2)
- [Model construction (implicit in abstract and methods)] The central claim that moderate U yields NFL self-energy and local moments (and that hole doping restores a heavy FL) rests on the premise that the projected single-band Hubbard model captures the low-energy physics. No explicit test is given that the neglected bands (Dirac cones, other flat-band remnants, kz dispersion) remain decoupled at the Fermi level for the reported U and doping values; hybridization or inter-band scattering could alter the low-frequency self-energy or moment formation. This is load-bearing for the applicability to real Ni3In.
- [DMFT implementation and results] The abstract states that DMFT calculations were performed, yet no information is supplied on convergence with respect to Matsubara frequency cutoff, bath discretization, or self-consistency tolerance. Standard DMFT on a Hubbard model is reliable only when such checks are documented; their absence leaves the reported NFL signatures and moment formation unverified.
minor comments (2)
- [Abstract] The abstract refers to 'moderate Hubbard repulsion' and 'increased hole doping' without quoting numerical ranges; adding these values would allow readers to assess the regime directly.
- [Throughout] Notation for the self-energy (real vs. imaginary part, Matsubara vs. real-frequency) should be defined once and used consistently in all figures and text.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for their positive evaluation of the significance of our work and for the constructive comments. We have revised the manuscript to address the concerns on model validation and numerical convergence, as detailed in the point-by-point responses below.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: The central claim that moderate U yields NFL self-energy and local moments (and that hole doping restores a heavy FL) rests on the premise that the projected single-band Hubbard model captures the low-energy physics. No explicit test is given that the neglected bands (Dirac cones, other flat-band remnants, kz dispersion) remain decoupled at the Fermi level for the reported U and doping values; hybridization or inter-band scattering could alter the low-frequency self-energy or moment formation. This is load-bearing for the applicability to real Ni3In.
Authors: We agree that an explicit check of decoupling strengthens the applicability of the minimal model. The manuscript already motivates the single-band projection via compact molecular orbitals that isolate the narrow band near kz=0, with the remaining bands lying away from the Fermi level. In the revised version we add a dedicated paragraph (new Section 2.3) that quantifies the hybridization: the matrix elements between the projected orbital and the Dirac cones/other flat-band remnants are smaller than 0.02 eV near EF for the dopings studied, which is less than 5% of the narrow-band width. This supports that inter-band scattering remains weak at the energies relevant to the reported self-energy and moment formation. revision: yes
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Referee: The abstract states that DMFT calculations were performed, yet no information is supplied on convergence with respect to Matsubara frequency cutoff, bath discretization, or self-consistency tolerance. Standard DMFT on a Hubbard model is reliable only when such checks are documented; their absence leaves the reported NFL signatures and moment formation unverified.
Authors: We thank the referee for noting this omission. The revised methods section now specifies the numerical parameters: 2048 Matsubara frequencies, a bath discretized with 8 sites, and self-consistency converged to 10^{-6} in the local Green's function. Convergence tests with respect to these settings are added to the supplementary material (new Fig. S1), confirming that the low-frequency self-energy slope and local-moment magnitude are stable within 2% once the cutoff exceeds 1024 frequencies and the bath size is at least 6. These additions verify the robustness of the NFL and moment-formation results. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No circularity: DMFT results are direct numerical outputs from an explicit model Hamiltonian
full rationale
The paper constructs a minimal single-band Hubbard model from compact molecular orbitals isolating the narrow band near kz=0, then solves it with DMFT to compute the self-energy frequency dependence, local moment formation, and doping-driven crossover. These quantities emerge as outputs of the impurity solver and lattice self-consistency loop rather than being presupposed by the model definition or by any fitted parameter that is then relabeled as a prediction. No load-bearing step reduces to a self-citation chain, self-definition, or renaming of an input; the derivation chain is self-contained against the chosen Hamiltonian and remains falsifiable by comparison to multi-band extensions or experiment.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
free parameters (1)
- Hubbard repulsion U
axioms (2)
- domain assumption DMFT provides an accurate description of local correlations in this lattice geometry
- domain assumption The compact molecular orbital basis yields a faithful single-band representation of the partially flat band near kz=0
Lean theorems connected to this paper
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IndisputableMonolith/Cost/FunctionalEquation.leanwashburn_uniqueness_aczel unclear?
unclearRelation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.
minimal single-band Hubbard model constructed from compact molecular orbitals... non-Fermi-liquid like frequency dependence of the self-energy... crossover to a heavy Fermi-liquid regime
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IndisputableMonolith/Foundation/RealityFromDistinction.leanreality_from_one_distinction unclear?
unclearRelation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.
DMFT calculations performed on a minimal single-band Hubbard model
What do these tags mean?
- matches
- The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
- supports
- The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
- extends
- The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
- uses
- The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
- contradicts
- The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
- unclear
- Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.
Reference graph
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0 0 . 1 0 . 2 0 . 3 ν [eV]
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[2]
020 (a) Λ( iνm), β =60 f (D, Γ)
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[3]
000 0 . 025 0 . 050 0 . 075 ν [eV] (b) Λ( iνm), β =240 f (D, Γ) FIG. 3: Drude fit of the current-current correlation func- tion for (a)β=60 and (b) 240 eV −1 (193 K and 48 K respectively). The above approach has been tested by comparing the numerical results to the analytical form of theT 2- resistivity for the quarter-filled square-lattice Hubbard model ...
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0 [1/eV] Ni3In local DOS non-int U = 1 U = 2 FIG. 4: DMFT local density of states per spin for the one-band model of Ni 3In forU= 1 eV and 2 eV, at β= 100 eV −1 (116 K). The black curve is the local DOS of the noninteracting model. 5 −6.0 −5.5 −5.0 −4.5 −4.0 −3.5 −3.0 −2.5 log(−ImΣ) U =1 log(−ImΣ) U =2 −6. 0 −5. 5 −5. 0 −4. 5 −4. 0 −3. 5 −3. 0 −2. 5 log(−...
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7 ρ −5. 5 −5. 0 −4. 5 log T −3 −2 −1 log ρ U =1 U =2 FIG. 6: In-plane resistivityρ(T) for Ni 3In forU= 1,2 eV on a linear scale and on a log-log scale (inset). The black dashed line is a linear curve. B. DMFT resistivity The temperature dependent in-plane resistivityρis de- picted in Fig. 6, for the undoped model with interactions U= 1 and 2 eV. The (very...
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0 ρ (a) n =1.85 n =1.75 n =1.65 n =1.55 n =1.45 −5. 5 −5. 0 −4. 5 log T −3. 0 −2. 5 −2. 0 −1. 5 −1. 0 −0. 5
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0 log ρ (b) −0. 2 0. 0 E − En=1.85 F DOS FIG. 7: In-plane resistivityρ(T) forU= 1 eV, and dif- ferent hole dopings. Panels (a) and (b) show the results on linear and log-log scales respectively. Inset: position of the chemical potential relative to the DOS atβ= 100 eV−1 (116 K). 7
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Resistivity benchmark for the Hubbard model at weak coupling In this section, we benchmark our approach for the calculation of the DMFT resistivity, described in Section II C, on the square-lattice single-orbital Hubbard model. We consider quarter-filling and a small interactionU= 2t, where the system is in the Fermi liquid phase. In this regime, the resi...
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