A ‘strange metal’ nickelate | Argonne National Laboratory

January 13, 2023

In a study published in Science Advances, researchers report the fermiology and ‘strange metal’ behavior of a planar trilayer nickelate to be similar to that of cuprate superconductors.

(a) Hole Fermi surface showing cuprate-like features (b) Pr₄Ni₃O₈ structure. (c) left: self-energy follows marginal Fermi liquid behavior; right: approximately T-linear resistivity (d) nickelate mass enhancement twice that of cuprates, potentially a signature of greater Mott character.

Scientific Achievement

ARPES studies on high-pO₂ grown Pr₄Ni₃O₈ crystals reveal similar fermiology and ‘strange metal’ behavior found in cuprates. However, the carrier mass enhancement is twice as large, consistent with a more Ni-localized, Mott-like description of the carriers.

Significance and Impact

This work helps to clarify the central question of the similarities and differences in the electronic description nickelate and cuprate superconductors.

Research Details

ARPES measurements on single crystals revealed Fermi surface and allowed quantitative assessment of electron dynamics in this high-T_c analog.
Transport measurements correlate with these ARPES findings and confirm the non-Fermi liquid character of the carriers

DOI 10.1126/sciadv.ade4418

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