Strain and vector magnetic field tuning of the anomalous phase in Sr<sub>3</sub>Ru<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub>
A major area of interest in condensed matter physics is the way electrons in correlated electron materials can self-organize into ordered states, and a particularly intriguing possibility is that they spontaneously choose a preferred direction of conduction. The correlated electron metal Sr<sub&g...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Articulo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/87379 |
| Aporte de: |
| Sumario: | A major area of interest in condensed matter physics is the way electrons in correlated electron materials can self-organize into ordered states, and a particularly intriguing possibility is that they spontaneously choose a preferred direction of conduction. The correlated electron metal Sr<sub>3</sub>Ru<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> has an anomalous phase at low temperatures that features strong susceptibility toward anisotropic transport. This susceptibility has been thought to indicate a spontaneous anisotropy, that is, electronic order that spontaneously breaks the point-group symmetry of the lattice, allowing weak external stimuli to select the orientation of the anisotropy. We investigate further by studying the response of Sr<sub>3</sub>Ru<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> in the region of phase formation to two fields that lift the native tetragonal symmetry of the lattice: in-plane magnetic field and orthorhombic lattice distortion through uniaxial pressure. The response to uniaxial pressure is surprisingly strong: Compressing the lattice by ~0.1% induces an approximately 100% transport anisotropy. However, neither the in-plane field nor the pressure phase diagrams are qualitatively consistent with spontaneous symmetry reduction. Instead, both are consistent with a multicomponent order parameter that is likely to preserve the point-group symmetry of the lattice, but is highly susceptible to perturbation. |
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