arXiv subjects

R. S. Perry

Publications and source records attributed to R. S. Perry.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Formation and consequences of heavy d-electron quasiparticles in Sr3Ru2O7

We report angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy measurements of the quantum critical metal Sr3Ru2O7 revealing itinerant Ru 4d-states confined over large parts of the Brillouin zone to an energy range of < 6 meV, nearly three orders of magnitude lower than the bare band width. We show that this energy scale agrees quantitatively with a characteristic thermodynamic energy scale associated with quantum criticality and illustrate how it arises from the hybridization of light and strongly renormalized, heavy quasiparticle bands. For the largest Fermi surface sheet we find a marked k-dependence of the renormalization and show that it correlates with the Ru 4d - O 2p hybridization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Sr3Ru2O7: Thermodynamics of Phase Formation in a Quantum Critical Metal

The behaviour of matter near zero temperature continuous phase transitions, or 'quantum critical points' (QCPs) is a central topic of study in condensed matter physics. In fermionic systems, fundamental questions remain unanswered: the nature of the quantum critical regime is unclear because of the apparent breakdown of the concept of the quasiparticle, a cornerstone of existing theories of strongly interacting metals. Even less is known experimentally about the formation of ordered phases from such a quantum critical 'soup'. Here, we report a study of the specific heat across the phase diagram of the model system Sr3Ru2O7, which features an anomalous phase whose transport properties are consistent with those of an electronic nematic. We show that this phase, which exists at low temperatures in a narrow range of magnetic fields, forms directly from a quantum critical state, and contains more entropy than mean-field calculations predict. Our results suggest that this extra entropy is due to remnant degrees of freedom from the highly entropic state above T_c. The associated quantum critical point, which is 'concealed' by the nematic phase, separates two Fermi liquids, neither of which has an identifiable spontaneously broken symmetry, but which likely differ in the topology of their Fermi surfaces.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Symmetry-breaking lattice distortion in Sr_3Ru_2O_7

The electronic nematic phase of Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ is investigated by high-resolution in-plane thermal expansion measurements in magnetic fields close to 8 T applied at various angles $Θ$ off the c-axis. At $Θ<10^\circ$ we observe a very small ($10^{-7}$) lattice distortion which breaks the four-fold in-plane symmetry, resulting in nematic domains with interchanged $a$- and b-axis. At $Θ\gtrsim 10^\circ$ the domains are almost fully aligned and thermal expansion indicates an area-preserving lattice distortion of order $2\times 10^{-6}$ which is likely related to orbital ordering. Since the system is located in the immediate vicinity to a metamagnetic quantum critical end point, the results represent the first observation of a structural relaxation driven by quantum criticality.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Quantum critical metamagnetism of Sr3Ru2O7 under hydrostatic pressure

Using ac susceptibility, we have determined the pressure dependence of the metamagnetic critical end point temperature T* for field applied in the ab-plane in the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7. We find that T* falls monotonically to zero as pressure increases, producing a quantum critical end point (QCEP) at Pc~13.6 kbar. New features are observed near the QCEP -- the slope of T* vs pressure changes at ~12.8 kbar, and weak subsidiary maxima appear on either side of the main susceptibility peak at pressures near Pc -- indicating that some new physics comes into play near the QCEP. Clear signatures of a nematic phase, however, that were seen in field-angle tuning of T*, are not observed. As T* is suppressed by pressure, the metamagnetic peak in the susceptibility remains sharp as a function of applied magnetic field. As a function of temperature, however, the peak becomes broad with only a very weak maximum, suggesting that, near the QCEP, the uniform magnetization density is not the order parameter for the metamagnetic transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Dirac Strings and Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice Dy2Ti2O7

While sources of magnetic fields - magnetic monopoles - have so far proven elusive as elementary particles, several scenarios have been proposed recently in condensed matter physics of emergent quasiparticles resembling monopoles. A particularly simple proposition pertains to spin ice on the highly frustrated pyrochlore lattice. The spin ice state is argued to be well-described by networks of aligned dipoles resembling solenoidal tubes - classical, and observable, versions of a Dirac string. Where these tubes end, the resulting defect looks like a magnetic monopole. We demonstrate, by diffuse neutron scattering, the presence of such strings in the spin-ice Dy2Ti2O7. This is achieved by applying a symmetry-breaking magnetic field with which we can manipulate density and orientation of the strings. In turn, heat capacity is described by a gas of magnetic monopoles interacting via a magnetic Coulomb interaction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Quantum oscillations near the metamagnetic transition in Sr3Ru2O7

We report detailed investigation of quantum oscillations in Sr3Ru2O7, observed inductively (the de Haas-van Alphen effect) and thermally (the magnetocaloric effect). Working at fields from 3 T to 18 T allowed us to straddle the metamagnetic transition region and probe the low- and high-field Fermi liquids. The observed frequencies are strongly field-dependent in the vicinity of the metamagnetic transition, and there is evidence for magnetic breakdown. We also present the results of a comprehensive rotation study. The most surprising result concerns the field dependence of the measured quasiparticle masses. Contrary to conclusions previously drawn by some of us as a result of a study performed with a much poorer signal to noise ratio, none of the five Fermi surface branches for which we have good field-dependent data gives evidence for a strong field dependence of the mass. The implications of these experimental findings are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Quantum oscillations in the anomalous phase in Sr3Ru2O7

We report measurements of quantum oscillations detected in the putative nematic phase of Sr3Ru2O7. Significant improvements in sample purity enabled the resolution of small amplitude dHvA oscillations between two first order metamagnetic transitions delimiting the phase. Two distinct frequencies were observed, and their amplitudes follow the normal Lifshitz-Kosevich profile. The Fermi surface sheets seem to correspond to a subset of those detected outside the phase. Variations of the dHvA frequencies are explained in terms of a chemical potential shift produced by reaching a peak in the density of states, and an anomalous field dependence of the oscillatory amplitude provides information on domains.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Anisotropy of the low-temperature magnetostriction of Sr3Ru2O7

We use high-resolution capacitive dilatometry to study the low-temperature linear magnetostriction of the bilayer ruthenate Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ as a function of magnetic field applied perpendicular to the ruthenium-oxide planes ($B\parallel c$). The relative length change $ΔL(B)/L$ is detected either parallel or perpendicular to the c-axis close to the metamagnetic region near B=8 T. In both cases, clear peaks in the coefficient $λ(B)=d(ΔL/L)/dB$ at three subsequent metamagnetic transitions are observed. For $ΔL\perp c$, the third transition at 8.1 T bifurcates at temperatures below 0.5 K. This is ascribed to the effect of an in-plane uniaxial pressure of about 15 bar, unavoidable in the dilatometer, which breaks the original fourfold in-plane symmetry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Evidence for the Sr2RuO4 intercalations in the Sr3Ru2O7 region of the Sr3Ru2O7-Sr2RuO4 eutectic system

Although Sr3Ru2O7 has not been reported to exhibit superconductivity so far, ac susceptibility measurements revealed multiple superconducting transitions occurring in the Sr3Ru2O7 region cut from Sr3Ru2O7-Sr2RuO4 eutectic crystals. Based on various experimental results, some of us proposed the scenario in which Sr2RuO4 thin slabs with a few layers of the RuO2 plane are embedded in the Sr3Ru2O7 region as stacking faults and multiple superconducting transitions arise from the distribution of the slab thickness. To examine this scenario, we measured the resistivity along the ab plane (rho_ab) using a Sr3Ru2O7-region sample cut from the eutectic crystal, as well as along the c axis (rho_c) using the same crystal. As a result, we detected resistance drops associated with superconductivity only in rho_ab, but not in rho_c. These results support the Sr2RuO4 thin-slab scenario. In addition, we measured the resistivity of a single crystal of pure Sr3Ru2O7 with very high quality and found that pure Sr3Ru2O7 does not exhibit superconductivity down to 15 mK.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Fermi surface and van Hove singularities in the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7

The low-energy electronic structure of the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7 is investigated by angle resolved photoemission and density functional calculations. We find well-defined quasiparticle bands with resolution limited line widths and Fermi velocities up to an order of magnitude lower than in single layer Sr2RuO4. The complete topography, the cyclotron masses and the orbital character of the Fermi surface are determined, in agreement with bulk sensitive de Haas - van Alphen measurements. An analysis of the dxy band dispersion reveals a complex density of states including van Hove singularities (vHs) near the Fermi level; a situation which is favorable for magnetic instabilities.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Formation of a Nematic Fluid at High Fields in Sr3Ru2O7

In principle, a complex assembly of strongly interacting electrons can self-organise into a wide variety of collective states, but relatively few such states have been identified in practice. We report that, in the close vicinity of a metamagnetic quantum critical point, high purity Sr3Ru2O7 possesses a large magnetoresistive anisotropy, consistent with the existence of an electronic nematic fluid. We discuss a striking phenomenological similarity between our observations and those made in high purity two-dimensional electron fluids in GaAs devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Orbital Properties of Sr3Ru2O7 and Related Ruthenates Probed by 17O-NMR

We report a site-separated $^{17}$O-NMR study of the layered perovskite ruthenate Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$, which exhibits nearly two-dimensional transport properties and itinerant metamagnetism at low temperatures. The local hole occupancies and the spin densities in the oxygen $2p$ orbitals are obtained by means of tight-binding analyses of electric field gradients and anisotropic Knight shifts. These quantities are compared with two other layered perovskite ruthenates: the two-dimensional paramagnet Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ and the three-dimensional ferromagnet SrRuO$_3$. The hole occupancies at the oxygen sites are very large, about one hole per ruthenium atom. This is due to the strong covalent character of the Ru-O bonding in this compound. The magnitude of the hole occupancy might be related to the rotation or tilt of the RuO$_6$ octahedra. The spin densities at the oxygen sites are also large, 20-40% of the bulk susceptibilities, but in contrast to the hole occupancies, the spin densities strongly depend on the dimensionality. This result suggests that the density-of-states at the oxygen sites plays an essential role for the understanding of the complex magnetism found in the layered perovskite ruthenates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Thermal conductivity in the vicinity of the quantum critical endpoint in Sr3Ru2O7

Thermal conductivity of Sr3Ru2O7 was measured down to 40 mK and at magnetic fields through the quantum critical endpoint at H_c = 7.85 T. A peak in the electrical resistivity as a function of field was mimicked by the thermal resistivity. In the limit as T -> 0 K we find that the Wiedemann-Franz law is satisfied to within 5% at all fields, implying that there is no breakdown of the electron despite the destruction of the Fermi liquid state at quantum criticality. A significant change in disorder (from $ρ_0$(H=0T) = 2.1 $μΩ$ cm to 0.5 $μΩ$ cm) does not influence our conclusions. At finite temperatures, the temperature dependence of the Lorenz number is consistent with ferromagnetic fluctuations causing the non-Fermi liquid behavior as one would expect at a metamagnetic quantum critical endpoint.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Fermi surface and quasiparticle excitations of Sr$_{2}$RhO$_{4}$

The electronic structure of the layered 4$d$ transition metal oxide Sr$_{2}$RhO$_{4}$ is investigated by angle resolved photoemission. We find well-defined quasiparticle excitations with a highly anisotropic dispersion, suggesting a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi liquid like ground state. Markedly different from the isostructural Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$, only two bands with dominant Rh 4$d_{xz,zy}$ character contribute to the Fermi surface. A quantitative analysis of the photoemission quasiparticle band structure is in excellent agreement with bulk data. In contrast, it is found that state-of-the-art density functional calculations in the local density approximation differ significantly from the experimental findings.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Metamagnetic quantum criticality in Sr3Ru2O7 studied by thermal expansion

We report low-temperature thermal expansion measurements on the bilayer ruthenate Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ as a function of magnetic field applied perpendicular to the Ruthenium-oxide planes. The field-dependence of the c-axis expansion coefficient indicates the accumulation of entropy close to 8 Tesla, related to an underlying quantum critical point. The latter is masked by two first-order metamagnetic transitions which bound a regime of enhanced entropy. Outside this region the singular thermal expansion behavior is compatible with the predictions of the itinerant theory for a two-dimensional metamagnetic quantum critical end point.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Phase Bifurcation and Quantum Fluctuations in Sr3Ru2O7

The bilayer ruthenate Sr_3Ru_2O_7 has been cited as a textbook example of itinerant metamagnetic quantum criticality. However, recent studies of the ultra-pure system have revealed striking anomalies in magnetism and transport in the vicinity of the quantum critical point. Drawing on new experimental data, we propose that the anomalous phase behavior can be accommodated by a mechanism which relies on the effects of strong magnetoelastic coupling. We argue that the phenomenological theory identified here is more generic and raises the possibility of quantum tricritical behaviour.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Systematic approach to the growth of high-quality single-crystals of Sr3Ru2O7

We describe a simple procedure for optimising the growth condition for high quality single crystals of the strontium ruthenate perovskites using an image furnace. The procedure involves carefully measuring the mass lost during crystal growth in order to predict the optimal initial atomic ratio. Using this approach we have succeeded in growing crystals of Sr3Ru2O7 with a residual resistivity as low as 0.25 ??cm. The procedure we describe here is expected to be useful for other systems when a standard travelling-solvent floating-zone (TSFZ) method cannot be used because of high volatility of a constituent material.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

The de Haas-van Alphen effect across the metamagnetic transition in Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$

We report a study of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect on the itinerant metamagnet Sr$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$. Extremely high sample purity allows the observation of dHvA oscillations both above and below the metamagnetic transition field of 7.9 T. The quasiparticle masses are fairly large away from the transition, and are enhanced by up to an extra factor of three as the transition is approached, but the Fermi surface topography change is quite small. The results are qualitatively consistent with a field-induced Stoner transition in which the mass enhancement is the result of critical fluctuations.

cond-mat.str-el↗