FIELD THEORY APPROACH TO CRITICAL QUANTUM IMPURITY PROBLEMS AND APPLICATIONS TO THE MULTI-CHANNEL KONDO EFFECT

Abstract

A new, general approach to finding exact solutions of Quantum Impurity Problems is reviewed, in which a local quantum mechanical degree of freedom is coupled to an extended variable, having gapless excitations. The principle ideas, using Conformal Field Theory techniques, are demonstrated in the example of the Multi-Channel Kondo effect, which exhibits unusual non-Fermi-liquid behavior at low temperatures and which appears to be relevant for Heavy Fermion Materials. In particular, static and dynamic Green's functions as well as transport and pairing properties are calculated exactly at low temperatures. Quantum Impurity Problems provide realizations of non-trivial, fully interacting Conformal Field Theories.