Formation of a nematic fluid at high fields in Sr3Ru2O7

Science. 2007 Jan 12;315(5809):214-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1134796. Epub 2006 Nov 23.

Abstract

In principle, a complex assembly of strongly interacting electrons can self-organize into a wide variety of collective states, but relatively few such states have been identified in practice. We report that, in the close vicinity of a metamagnetic quantum critical point, high-purity strontium ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7 possesses a large magnetoresistive anisotropy, consistent with the existence of an electronic nematic fluid. We discuss a striking phenomenological similarity between our observations and those made in high-purity two-dimensional electron fluids in gallium arsenide devices.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't