Quantum matter in high magnetic fields

Abstract:

By solving the Boltzmann transport equation we investigate theoretically the general form of oscillations in the resistivity caused by varying the direction of an applied magnetic field for the case of quasi-two dimensional systems on hexagonal lattices. The presence of the angular magnetoresistance oscillations can be used to map out the topology of the Fermi surface and we study how this effect varies as a function of the degree of interplane warping as well as a function of the degree of isotropic scattering. We find that the angular dependent effect due to in-plane rotation follows the symmetry imposed by the lattice whereas for inter-plane rotation the degree of warping dictates the dominant features observed in simulations. Our calculations make predictions for specific angle-dependent magnetotransport signatures in magnetic fields expected for quasi-two dimensional hexagonal compounds similar to PdCoO2 and PtCoO2.

Abstract:

The iron-based intermetallic YFe_{2}Ge_{2} stands out among transition metal compounds for its high Sommerfeld coefficient of the order of 100  mJ/(mol K^{2}), which signals strong electronic correlations. A new generation of high quality samples of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} show superconducting transition anomalies below 1.8 K in thermodynamic, magnetic, and transport measurements, establishing that superconductivity is intrinsic in this layered iron compound outside the known superconducting iron pnictide or chalcogenide families. The Fermi surface geometry of YFe_{2}Ge_{2} resembles that of KFe_{2}As_{2} in the high pressure collapsed tetragonal phase, in which superconductivity at temperatures as high as 10 K has recently been reported, suggesting an underlying connection between the two systems.