What is the fate of the heavy electron at a quantum critical point?

A growing body of evidence suggests that the quantum critical behavior at the onset of magnetism in heavy fermion systems cannot be understood in terms of a simple quantum spin density wave. This talk will discuss the consequences of this conclusion, touching on its possible implications in the realm of 2D systems and outlining current theoretical and experimental efforts to characterize the nature of the critical point in heavy fermion materials. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.