Singular angular magnetoresistance and sharp resonant features in a high-mobility metal with open orbits, ReO3

TL;DR

This study reveals how high-mobility ReO3 exhibits singular angular magnetoresistance patterns due to open orbits on its Fermi surface, with new methods to analyze Fermi geometry and unexpected sharp features.

Contribution

It demonstrates the impact of open orbits on magnetoresistance and introduces the 'completion angle' as a new geometric measure of the Fermi surface.

Findings

Resistivity changes dramatically with magnetic field orientation.

Singular behavior linked to conversion between closed and open orbits.

Identification of the 'completion angle' as a Fermi radius measurement.

Abstract

We report high-resolution angular magnetoresistance (AMR) experiments performed on crystals of ReO$_3$ with high mobility (90,000 cm$^2$/Vs at 2 K) and extremely low residual resistivity (5-8 n$\Omega$cm). The Fermi surface, comprised of intersecting cylinders, supports open orbits. The resistivity $\rho_{xx}$ in a magnetic field $B$ = 9 T displays a singular pattern of behavior. With $\bf E\parallel \hat{x}$ and $\bf B$ initially $\parallel\bf\hat{z}$, tilting $\bf B$ in the longitudinal $k_z$-$k_x$ plane leads to a steep decrease in $\rho_{xx}$ by a factor of 40. However, if $\bf B$ is tilted in the transverse $k_y$-$k_z$ plane, $\rho_{xx}$ increases steeply by a factor of 8. Using the Shockley tube integral approach, we show that, in ReO$_3$, the singular behavior results from the rapid conversion of closed to open orbits, resulting in opposite signs for AMR in orthogonal planes. The floor values of $\rho_{xx}$ in both AMR scans are identified with specific sets of open and closed orbits. Also, the "completion angle" $\gamma_c$ detected in the AMR is shown to be an intrinsic geometric feature that provides a new way to measure the Fermi radius $k_F$. However, additional sharp resonant features which appear at very small tilt angles in the longitudinal AMR scans are not explained by the tube integral approach.