Weakly incoherent magnetotransport in layered metals

TL;DR

This paper explores the unique magnetotransport properties of layered metals in the weakly incoherent regime, revealing stronger impurity effects, increased magnetoresistance, and altered quantum oscillation damping compared to coherent regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework for weakly incoherent magnetotransport, highlighting qualitative differences from previous models and emphasizing impurity effects and oscillation behavior.

Findings

Interlayer magnetoresistance increases monotonically with magnetic field.

Effective electron mean free time decreases with magnetic field.

Higher harmonics and Dingle temperature effects are enhanced.

Abstract

We investigate the conductivity in layered metals in magnetic field in the weakly incoherent limit, when the interlayer transfer integral is smaller than the Landau level broadening due to the impurity potential, but the interlayer electron tunnelling conserves the intralayer momentum. It is shown that the impurity potential has much stronger effect in this regime, than in the quasi-2D metals in the coherent limit. The weakly incoherent regime has several new qualitative features, not found in the previous theoretical approaches. The background interlayer magnetoresistance in this regime monotonically grows with increasing of magnetic field perpendicular to the conducting layers. The effective electron mean free time is considerably shorter than in the coherent regime and decreases with magnetic field. This enhances the role of higher harmonics in the angular magnetoresistance oscillations and increases the Dingle temperature, which damps the magnetic quantum oscillations.