Possible quantum criticality and coexistence of spontaneous ferromagnetism and field-induced metamagnetism in triple-layered Sr4Ru3O10

TL;DR

This study investigates the thermodynamic and transport properties of Sr4Ru3O10, revealing quantum critical behavior associated with coexistence of ferromagnetism and metamagnetism, which is unique among known quantum critical systems.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of quantum fluctuations in a system exhibiting both intra-layer metamagnetism and inter-layer ferromagnetism, highlighting a novel quantum critical scenario.

Findings

Specific heat increases with magnetic field

Divergent C/T at low temperatures

Field-induced jumps and peaks in C/T at critical fields

Abstract

A thermodynamic and transport study of Sr4Ru3O10 as a function of temperature and magnetic field are presented. The central results include a growing specific heat C with increasing field B, a divergent magnetic contribution to C/T at low temperatures, an abrupt jump and a peak in C/T at 2.90 T and 7 T for B||ab-plane and B||c-axis, respectively, and corresponding changes in the low T power laws of the resistivity. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that the quantum fluctuations occur in a system that shows both intralayer metamagnetism and interlayer spontaneous ferromagnetism, a feature characteristically different from all other systems involving quantum criticality.