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Separated transport relaxation scales and interband scattering in thin films of SrRuO3, CaRuO3, and Sr2RuO4

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

Y. Wang
H.P. Nair
N.J. Schreiber
J.P. Ruf
B. Cheng
D.G. Schlom
K.M. Shen
N.P. Armitage

Abstract

The anomalous charge transport observed in some strongly correlated metals raises questions as to the universal applicability of Landau Fermi-liquid theory. The coherence temperature TFL for normal metals is usually taken to be the temperature below which T2 is observed in the resistivity. Below this temperature, a Fermi liquid with well-defined quasiparticles is expected. However, metallic ruthenates in the Ruddlesden-Popper family frequently show non-Drude low-energy optical conductivity and unusual ω/T scaling, despite the frequent observation of T2 dc resistivity. Herein we report time-domain THz spectroscopy measurements of several different high-quality metallic ruthenate thin films and show that the optical conductivity can be interpreted in more conventional terms. In all materials, the conductivity has a two Lorentzian line shape at low temperature and a crossover to a one Drude peak line shape at higher temperatures. The two component low-temperature conductivity is indicative of two well-separated current relaxation rates for different conduction channels. In SrRuO3 and Sr2RuO4, both relaxation rates scale as T2, while in CaRuO3 the slow relaxation rate shows T2, and the fast relaxation rate generates a constant background in conductivity. We discuss three particular possibilities for the separation of rates: (a) strongly energy-dependent inelastic scattering; (b) an almost conserved pseudomomentum operator that overlaps with the current, giving rise to the narrower Drude peak; and (c) the presence of multiple conduction channels that undergoes a crossover to stronger interband scattering at higher temperatures. None of these scenarios requires the existence of exotic quasiparticles. However, the interpretation in terms of multiple conduction channels in particular is consistent with the existence of multiple Fermi surfaces in these compounds and with the expected relative weakness of ω2 dependent effects in the scattering as compared to T2 dependent effects in the usual Fermi-liquid treatment. The results may give insight into the possible significance of Hund's coupling in determining interband coupling in these materials. Our results also show a route towards understanding the violation of Matthiessen's rule in this class of materials and deviations from the "Gurzhi"scaling relations in Fermi liquids. © 2021 American Physical Society.

Date Published

Journal

Physical Review B

Volume

103

Issue

20

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85105997351&doi=10.1103%2fPhysRevB.103.205109&partnerID=40&md5=256e1c805fbc76376dcfdbbe699d8a10

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevB.103.205109

Group (Lab)

Kyle Shen Group

Funding Source

DGE-1650441
DMR-1539918
DMR-1709255
DMR-1905519
DMR-1719875
ECCS-1542081
GBMF3850
GBMF9073

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