Non-Fermi liquid behavior in the magnetotransport of CeMIn5 (M: Co and Rh): Striking similarity between quasi 2D heavy fermion and high-Tc cuprates

TL;DR

This paper investigates the non-Fermi liquid behavior in the magnetotransport properties of quasi-2D heavy fermion superconductors CeMIn5, revealing striking similarities with high-Tc cuprates and suggesting universal features of strongly correlated electron systems.

Contribution

It provides a systematic study of magnetotransport in CeMIn5 under pressure, highlighting non-Fermi liquid behavior and its resemblance to high-Tc cuprates, emphasizing universal aspects of correlated electron systems.

Findings

Hall coefficient increases dramatically at low T

Magnetoresistance violates Kohler's rule

Hall angle varies as T^2

Abstract

We present a systematic study of the dc-resistivity, Hall effect, and magnetoresistance in the normal state of quasi 2D heavy fermion superconductors CeMIn5 (M: Rh and Co) under pressure. Here the electronic system evolves with pressure from an antiferromagnetic (AF) metal, through a highly unconventional non-Fermi liquid, and finally into a Fermi-liquid state. The amplitude of the Hall coefficient increases dramatically with decreasing T, reaching at low temperatures a value significantly larger than 1/ne. Furthermore, the magnetoresistance is characterized by T- and H-dependence which clearly violate Kohler's rule. We found that the Hall angle cot\Theta varies as T^2, and the magnetoresistance is well scaled by the Hall angle as \Delta \rho_{xx}/\rho_{xx}\propto \tan^2\Theta. These non-Fermi liquid properties in the electron transport are remarkably pronounced when the AF fluctuations are enhanced in the vicinity of the QCP. We lay particular emphasis on the striking resemblance of these anomalous magnetotransport with those of the high-Tc cuprates. We argue that features commonly observed in quasi 2D heavy fermion and cuprates very likely capture universal features of strongly correlated electron systems.