Fractionalized Fermi liquids

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In spatial dimensions d >= 2, Kondo lattice models of conduction and local moment electrons can exhibit a fractionalized, non-magnetic state (FL*) with a Fermi surface of sharp electron-like quasiparticles, enclosing a volume quantized by (ρₐ-1)(mod 2), with ρₐ the mean number of all electrons per unit cell of the ground state. Such states have fractionalized excitations linked to the deconfined phase of a gauge theory. Confinement leads to a conventional Fermi liquid state, with a Fermi volume quantized by ρₐ (mod 2), and an intermediate superconducting state for the Z₂ gauge case. The FL* state permits a second order metamagnetic transition in an applied magnetic field.