Finite-temperature spectra and quasiparticle interference in Kondo lattices: From light electrons to coherent heavy quasiparticles

Abstract: Recent advances in scanning tunneling spectroscopy performed on heavy-fermion metals provide a window onto local electronic properties of composite heavy-electron quasiparticles. Here we theoretically investigate the energy and temperature evolution of single-particle spectra and their quasiparticle interference caused by point-like impurities in the framework of a periodic Anderson model. By numerically solving dynamical-mean-field-theory equations, we are able to access all temperatures and to capture the crossover from weakly interacting c and f electrons to fully coherent heavy quasiparticles. Remarkably, this crossover occurs in a dynamical fashion at an energy-dependent crossover temperature. We study in detail the associated Fermi-surface reconstruction and characterize the incoherent regime near the Kondo temperature. Finally, we link our results to current heavy-fermion experiments.