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RESEARCH ARTICLES

is how such behavior could lead to a QCP,


Magnetic Field–Tuned Quantum because the application of a symmetry-
breaking field forbids a second-order mag-

Criticality in the Metallic netic phase transition. A QCP can arise in


the following way: In general, metamag-

Ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7
netism is expected to be a first-order phase
transition occurring along some line H ⫽
Hc(T ) in the field and temperature (T )
S. A. Grigera,1,2* R. S. Perry,2 A. J. Schofield,2 M. Chiao,3 plane. A line of first-order transitions must
S. R. Julian,3 G. G. Lonzarich,3 S. I. Ikeda,4,5 Y. Maeno,5 terminate in a critical end point (H *,T *)
A. J. Millis,6 A. P. Mackenzie1,2* characterized by diverging susceptibilities.
A quantum critical end point would occur if
The concept of quantum criticality is proving to be central to attempts to T * 3 0. One may also imagine a situation
understand the physics of strongly correlated electrons. Here, we argue that in which T * ⬍ 0; this would correspond to
observations on the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7 represent good evidence a rapid (but analytic) crossover in the low-T
for a new class of quantum critical point, arising when the critical end point M(H ) curve. This spectrum of behaviors
terminating a line of first-order transitions is depressed toward zero temper- has been observed. There is good evidence
ature. This is of interest both in its own right and because of the convenience for a first-order transition [discontinuity in
of having a quantum critical point for which the tuning parameter is the M(H )] in UPd2Al3 at low T (11) and for a
magnetic field. The relationship between the resultant critical fluctuations and crossover in CeFe2Ge2 (12). The possibility

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novel behavior very near the critical field is discussed. of a metamagnetic criticality has been sug-
gested in relation to observations on mate-
Understanding the behavior of a dense as- QCP, many materials of scientific and tech- rials such as CeRu2Si2 (13–15) and UPt3
sembly of interacting, or “correlated,” elec- nological interest may lie close to one in (15, 16 ), but little discussion was given of
trons in metallic systems remains one of the some general parameter space. Third, prox- exactly how it could occur. We believe that
outstanding challenges of modern physics. imity to a QCP may stabilize novel ground the work reported here clearly identifies the
It is a many-body quantum-mechanical states in itinerant systems. Examples of existence and consequences of a metamag-
problem of such complexity that it cannot these include unconventional forms of su- netic quantum critical end point. The funda-
be solved by direct, “first principles” cal- perconductivity (4, 6 ) and magnetism (7 ). mental difference between this and a QCP
culation (1), so it has been tackled through The concept of the QCP has now been produced by depressing a second-order phase
a series of ingenious alternative approaches extensively investigated theoretically (5, 8, transition to absolute zero is the absence of
that have been developed over the past 50 9), but many open questions remain, par- spontaneous symmetry breaking.
years (2). A concept that has attracted con- ticularly in itinerant systems. One of the The ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7 is the n ⫽ 2
siderable attention recently is quantum crit- problems is the restricted range of experi- member of the Ruddlesden-Popper series of
icality, which can be explicitly produced by ments that have been possible on systems layered perovskites Srn⫹1RunO3n⫹1. The
depressing the characteristic temperature of where QCP’s are explicitly introduced. If end members of the series, with n ⫽ ⬁ n ⫽
a second-order phase transition toward ab- pressure is used as the tuning parameter, a 1, respectively, are pseudo-cubic SrRuO3
solute zero by using some externally ap- variety of desirable thermodynamic mea- [an itinerant ferromagnet (17 )] and the
plied control parameter such as chemical surements are currently difficult to obtain, strongly two-dimensional Sr2RuO4 [a well-
composition (3) or hydrostatic pressure (4 ). whereas the chemical composition is not known unconventional superconductor
The physical properties of the system are continuously tunable and also has the sig- (18)]. All compounds in the series contain
then dominated by the critical fluctuations nificant disadvantage of introducing disor- Ru4⫹, and have Fermi surfaces with strong
associated with this quantum critical point der. Perhaps the most useful tuning param- character of the 4dxy and 4dxz,yz orbitals of
(QCP) or quantum phase transition (QPT). eter at present is a magnetic field. The Ru, hybridized with O 2p states. Sr3Ru2O7
This concept has generated considerable above restrictions would not apply, and the displays metamagnetism for magnetic
excitement for several reasons. First, it is complete characterization of a QCP and its fields oriented both in the ab plane and
now generally acknowledged that these consequences for an itinerant system would along the c axis (19). For B 㛳 ab, the
fluctuations can influence the behavior of become a realizable goal. transition occurs between 5 and 6 tesla ( T ),
correlated electron systems even at very Here, we show that the bilayer ruthenate and clearly has some structure. For B 㛳 c, it
high temperatures, up to room temperature metal Sr3Ru2O7 exhibits behavior consistent is a single, well-defined transition at ap-
and beyond (5). Second, because a whole with proximity to a metamagnetic (i.e., mag- proximately 7.8 T. In our previous work,
variety of tuning parameters can produce a netic field–tuned) quantum critical point. there was evidence that critical fluctuations
This constitutes both the observation of a new exist in Sr3Ru2O7 for temperatures ⬎1.8 K
1
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. class of QCP (the quantum critical end point) (19). Although interesting, this does not
Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, and an opportunity to exploit the experimen- establish the existence of a QCP. The results
UK. 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of tal precision of field-tuned studies. presented here form a careful study of low-
Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2T T, UK. 3Cavendish
Laboratory, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHE, Metamagnetism is empirically defined temperature transport for the apparently most
UK. 4Nanoelectronics Research Institute, AIST, as a very rapid increase of magnetization, definitive field orientation of B 㛳 c. We show
Tsukuba Central 2, Tsukuba, 305-8568, Japan. 5De- M, over a narrow region of applied field, H. that a “coarse-grained” view of the data re-
partment of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606- In localized systems, where it was first veals all the hallmarks of a QCP at the meta-
8502, Japan. 6Center for Materials Theory, Depart-
ment of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University,
discovered, metamagnetism is the result of magnetic field Hc. Additionally, detailed in-
Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. “spin-flop” or “spin-flip” spin reorientation vestigation gives evidence for a marked
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-
processes (10); however, it may also occur change in transport properties in an extremely
mail: s.grigera@bham.ac.uk (S.A.G.); apm9@st-and. in itinerant systems, even those which are narrow window of temperature and field
ac.uk (A.P.M.) nonmagnetic at H ⫽ 0. A natural question around Hc, an effect new to these systems.

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 294 12 OCTOBER 2001 329


RESEARCH ARTICLES
Experiment. The high-quality single at T ⫽ 0, A is a temperature-independent tures. The clearest way to demonstrate this
crystals on which this work depends were coefficient related to a quasi-particle effec- is to fit the data below 350 mK to the form
grown in Kyoto and characterized in Bir- tive mass, and the exponent ␣ contains valu- ␳(T ) ⫽ ␳res ⫹ AT 2, subtract the value of
mingham using methods described previous- able information about the nature of the me- ␳res, and plot (␳ – ␳res)/T 2 versus T (Fig. 3).
ly (19–21). Resistance ratios R(300K)/ tallic state. One of the key predictions of the The results contain two of the key signa-
R(4.2K) in excess of 100 were achieved. Fermi liquid theory of correlated electron tures expected of a QCP (9). First, A (which
These are approximately a factor of 10 higher metals is that ␣ ⫽ 2 as T 3 0. A character- can be read off as the zero temperature
than those achieved elsewhere (22), and our istic signature of non-Fermi liquid metals has intercept of the flat part of the data at each
highest quality crystals show no sign of the been the observation of ␣ ⬍ 2 in this limit field) changes by at least a factor of 7 from
ferromagnetic inclusions that are sometimes (23). An indication of the existence of a its low-field value and shows behavior con-
seen in Sr3Ru2O7. The transport experiments metamagnetic QCP in Sr3Ru2O7 comes from sistent with a divergence at a single field,
were carried out in 4He cryostats and dilution analysis of “high-temperature” data taken be- as can be seen more clearly when plotted
refrigerators in Birmingham and Cambridge tween 4.5 and 40 K in a 4He cryostat. In the explicitly as a function of field (Fig. 4). The
using standard four-terminal techniques. field/temperature contour plot of ␣ (Fig. 1), second feature is that the rise in A is ac-
High-temperature resistivity. Although ␣ ⫽ 2 at low fields, falls to a power close to companied by a fall in the characteristic
the evidence for low-temperature criticality 1 near the metamagnetic field, and then temperature below which the T 2 behavior is
comes from a number of thermodynamic and grows again as the field is increased further observed. This is more difficult to quantify
transport measurements (19), the most pre- (24). because its definition requires the use of a
cise data have been obtained from magneto- Low-temperature resistivity. Although slightly arbitrary criterion, but the trend can
transport. The data are analyzed using the these results are suggestive of a metamag- clearly be seen in the data.

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general expression ␳(T) ⫽ ␳res ⫹ AT ␣, where netic QCP, they are not conclusive, as nei- These results (Figs. 2 to 4) are very
␳res is the resistivity due to elastic scattering ther a first-order transition/low-tempera- good evidence that the properties of
ture critical point nor a crossover can be Sr3Ru2O7 are controlled by a QCP associ-
ruled out. It is not even clear whether ␣ ⫽ ated with the metamagnetic transition.
2 will be recovered on the high-field side of They are entirely consistent with the trend
the transition. To address these issues, we suggested by the high-temperature trans-
have extended the study to the low-temper- port (Fig. 1), because ␣ ⫽ 2 is seen to be
ature region using a dilution refrigerator recovered at both low and high fields, and
(Fig. 2). As the field is changed through the ␣ ⬍ 2 persists to progressively lower tem-
metamagnetic transition field, large chang- peratures as the QCP is approached. This is
es are observed in both ␳res and the tem- perhaps our key experimental result, be-
perature-dependent part of ␳. Analysis of cause it shows that Sr3Ru2O7 will give an
the data shows that ␣ ⫽ 2 at low tempera- ideal opportunity to study the effect of a

Fig. 3. The inelastic resistivity as a


function of temperature in Sr3Ru2O7,
for a number of applied fields. Passing
Fig. 1. Summary of the high-temperature through the metamagnetic field de-
resistivity, ␳, near the metamagnetic transi- presses the crossover to the quadratic
tion in Sr3Ru2O7, for magnetic field applied behavior expected of a Fermi liquid
parallel to the c axis. The plot shows the and leads to a sharp maximum in the
temperature and field evolution of the expo- strength of the quasi-particle–quasi-
nent, ␣, derived from the expression ␳ ⫽ particle scattering.
␳res ⫹ AT ␣. At low field, the quadratic tem-
perature dependence expected in a Fermi
liquid is seen below 10 K. Near the meta-
magnetic field of ⬃7.8 T, a power close to 1
persists down to 4.5 K, before rising again as
the field is increased.

Fig. 4. A summary of the data of


Figs. 2 and 3, expressed in terms of
the expression ␳ ⫽ ␳res ⫹ AT ␣. The
value given for A is from the lowest
temperature portion, when ␣ ⫽ 2.
The sharp peaking of A is very strong
evidence that when the field is sam-
pled at this resolution, the low-tem-
perature data are governed by the
existence of a metamagnetic quan-
tum critical point. Extrapolation of
Fig. 2. Sample raw resistivity (␳) data for the low- and high-field data gives a
Sr3Ru2O7 for B 㛳 c below 1 K. Passing through critical field of 7.85 ⫾ 0.05 T.
the metamagnetic field of ⬃7.85 T leads to a
maximum in the strength of both the elastic
and inelastic scattering.

330 12 OCTOBER 2001 VOL 294 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org


RESEARCH ARTICLES
new class of QCP in a clean itinerant elec- different characteristic shape, which is ly 2.7 were observed down to the lowest
tron system. The convenience of magnetic much flatter at low temperature. The traces temperatures. The values of ␳res are plotted
field tuning will open the way to a host of shown in blue are from 7.8 and 7.9 T, and against magnetic field in the inset to Fig. 5,
thermodynamic and spectroscopic mea- seem to delineate the boundary between the color coded in the same way as the inset.
surements that cannot easily be performed “conventional” (black) behavior and the They show that the fields at which the
on other known metallic QCP systems, in unconventional (red) behavior. unusual temperature dependence is seen in
which the tuning parameter is pressure or An obvious question to ask is whether ␳ are those at which ␳res peaks, and are
chemical composition (25). the data from the unconventional region hence those closest in field to the metamag-
Detailed behavior very near the meta- display any fixed unusual power law. As netic transition. The combination of ␳res
magnetic transition. Careful analysis of the shown in Fig. 6, they vary approximately as data shown in Figs. 4 and 5 can be subject-
transport properties for very closely spaced T 3 for temperatures below about 500 mK. ed to an independent check. A field sweep
fields through the metamagnetic transition The insets to Fig. 6 show (i) how poor the at a constant temperature of ⬃40 mK close-
reveals further interesting behavior (Fig. agreement with T 2 is and (ii) that the cross- ly reproduces the field dependence of the
5). The data ( plotted after the subtraction over to the higher power is very sharp in extracted values of ␳res, giving us confi-
of ␳res) show three quite distinct character- temperature. To distinguish the notation dence in the quality of our analysis proce-
istic shapes. Those traced in black (taken at from that used when the conventional qua- dure [data not shown here; similar data
fields in the ranges 7.5 to 7.75 T and 7.95 dratic temperature dependence is observed, shown in (19)].
to 8.5 T) have the same basic shape as those we use A3 to denote the weight of the T 3 Discussion and relationship to other
in Figs. 2 and 3, (␣ ⫽ 2 at low tempera- term. Extrapolation of this T 3 term was data. The overall picture that emerges from
tures). Those shown in red, which come used to extract ␳res for these values of the our data can be summarized as follows. If a

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from the extremely narrow field region be- field. For the intermediate fields of 7.8 and “coarse-grained” approach is taken, very
tween 7.82 and 7.86 T, have a completely 7.9 T, noninteger ␣ values of approximate- strong evidence is obtained for the existence
of a single metamagnetic QCP with a char-
acteristic field of 7.85 ⫾ 0.05 T (Fig. 4).
Fig. 5. The inelastic resistivity Although metamagnetic features have been
as a function of temperature
in Sr3Ru2O7, for applied fields studied at ambient pressure in a number of
very close to the metamag- other materials [e.g., (11–16, 26, 27)], the
netic field. The data shown in steep, sevenfold increase in the A coefficient
black, from 7.5 to 7.75 T and is by far the most pronounced such feature
7.95 to 8.5 T, have the same seen near a metamagnetic transition. In
characteristic shape as those CeRu2Si2, for example, an equivalent study
of Figs. 2 and 3, with the
expected quadratic tempera- revealed at most a factor of 2 change in A
ture dependence at suffi- (13). We believe, therefore, that these obser-
ciently low temperature. The vations open the way to the careful study of a
data shown in red, from the new class of QCP, the quantum critical end
extremely narrow region be- point.
tween 7.82 and 7.86 T, have We now make some remarks about the
a completely different tem-
perature dependence, with appropriate theoretical approach in such a
much weaker variation at low situation. This critical end point has Ising
temperature. Those in blue, symmetry, so the order parameter ␾ has one
for 7.8 and 7.9 T, appear to component, which is the deviation of the
mark the boundary between long-wavelength magnetization from the
the two distinct classes of behavior. (Inset) The field dependence of ␳res extracted from the same value Mc found at the metamagnetic critical
field sweeps (circles, color coded as in the main figure) and A (black triangles and guide to the eye)
for the fields at which a quadratic temperature dependence is observed. end point H ⫽ Hc, T ⫽ 0. This order
parameter is expected to be governed by an
overdamped quantum Ginzburg-Landau
Fig. 6. The resistivity for one model of the type discussed in (8, 9), in 2d
of the fields (7.82 T ) at [in light of recent neutron-scattering results
which anomalous behavior is (28)]. We have analyzed such a model (29),
shown in Fig. 5. The data
show an accurate T 3 varia-
and a more complete treatment of the the-
tion below ⬃0.5 K. The de- ory will be presented elsewhere. However,
gree of deviation from a T 2 the data contain a further remarkable fea-
dependence is demonstrated ture which is not predicted by this or any
by the top inset. The cubic other conventional quantum critical theory,
axis on the main figure as we now discuss.
strongly emphasizes the data
above 0.5 K for which almost
The “fine-grained” study (Fig. 5) shows
linear behavior is seen (Fig. that the apparent divergence of A is cut off
5). For this reason, we include in a rather remarkable way. In the sharply
the bottom inset, which defined anomalous region of the (B,T )
shows data from both 7.82 plane (7.82 T ⬍ B ⬍ 7.86 T), very unusual
and 7.86 T. It emphasizes the transport properties are seen, with ␳ ⫽
quality of the T 3 variation,
that it is essentially the same
␳res ⫹ A3 ,T ␣, ␣ ⬇ 3. Although we do not
for the entire range of fields have sufficient data to show ␣ ⬇ 3 over a
shown in red in Fig. 5, and complete decade of temperature, the accu-
that the onset of this highly anomalous behavior is very sharp in temperature as well as in field. racy with which it is obeyed below 500 mK

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 294 12 OCTOBER 2001 331


RESEARCH ARTICLES
seems fairly persuasive. A more complete A more intriguing possibility is that we 7. C. Pfleiderer, G. J. McMullan, S. R. Julian, G. G.
picture comes from further analysis of the Lonzarich, Phys. Rev. B 55, 8330 (1997).
are seeing the signs of a novel form of 8. J. A. Hertz, Phys. Rev. B 14, 1165 (1976).
“conventional” data of Fig. 5, for which quantum order (1). Clean itinerant systems 9. A. J. Millis, Phys. Rev. B 48, 7183 (1993).
␣ ⫽ 2 at low temperature. Extracting the A very near QCP’s often adopt ordered states 10. E. Stryjewski, N. Giordano, Adv. Phys. 26, 487 (1977).
coefficient using the procedure described such as unconventional superconductivity 11. K. Sugiyama et al., Physica B 281, 244 (2000).
12. H. Sugawara, Y. Aoki, H. Sato, N. Mushnikov, T. Goto,
above yields the data shown by the black at low temperatures (4, 6, 23). The unusual J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 68, 1094 (1999).
triangles in the inset to Fig. 5. As a precur- aspect of the current situation is that the 13. S. Kambe, H. Suderow, J. Flouquet, P. Haen, P. Lejay,
sor to the collapse to the new power, the QCP is dependent on the existence of a Solid State Commun. 95, 449 (1995); corrigendum,
Solid State Commun. 96, 175 (1995).
apparently diverging A (Fig. 4) turns over large symmetry-breaking magnetic field, 14. Y. Aoki et al., Physica B 259, 28 (1999).
and begins to fall as the field comes very whose presence is likely to rule out most of 15. J. S. Kim, D. Hall, K. Heuser, G. R. Stewart, Solid State
close to the metamagnetic field. the known “escape routes,” opening the Commun. 114, 413 (2000).
16. P. H. Frings, J. J. M. Franse, Phys. Rev. B 31, 4355
The quantum critical theory discussed way to genuinely novel behavior. We can- (1985).
above does not predict this behavior. Indeed, not, on the basis of the data presented here, 17. P. B. Allen et al., Phys. Rev. B 53, 4393 (1996) and
we argue that any continuous transition con- distinguish between the above possibilities references therein.
18. K. Ishida et al., Nature 396, 658 (1998) and referenc-
sistent with our data and scaling yields ⌬␳ ⬃ or rule out others. A key challenge is likely es therein.
T x with x ⬍ 2, if the field is tuned to the to be a convincing explanation for ␣ ⬇ 3 in 19. R. S. Perry et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 2661 (2001).
critical value. We write ⌬␳ ⫽ ␳ – ␳res ⫽ T x a situation where scattering is clearly dom- 20. S. I. Ikeda, Y. Maeno, Physica B 261, 947 (1999).
R(h/T y), where R(u) is a well-behaved func- 21. S. Ikeda, Y. Maeno, S. Nakatsuji, M. Kosaka, Y. Uwa-
inated by pure electron-electron interac- toko, Phys. Rev. B 62, R6089 (2000).
tion, h ⫽ (H – Hc)/Hc is the reduced field, and tions. Whatever its eventual explanation, 22. Y. Liu et al., Phys. Rev. B 63, 174435 (2001).
y ⬎ 0 because both h and T are relevant fields this is, we believe, a very interesting obser- 23. For a succinct, modern review, see P. Coleman, C.

Downloaded from http://science.sciencemag.org/ on October 28, 2019


which scale the system away from the critical vation. The well-known result of ␣ ⫽ 2 is a Pépin, Q. Si, R. Ramazashvili, preprint at http://xxx.
lanl.gov/abs/cond-mat/0105006.
point. In the limit u 3 0, near criticality, a consequence of phase space restriction for 24. For B 㛳 ab, ␣ ⫽ 2 is recovered at high field at
leading order expansion yields R(u) ⫽ R0 ⫹ quasi-particles near a Fermi surface; the temperatures ⬎2.5 K (19).
ᏻ(u), and in the opposite limit, the asymptotic current observation clearly indicates that 25. A magnetic field has an important effect on pressure-
or composition-tuned criticality in several metallic
behavior of R is characterized by an exponent one or more of the central planks of this systems {e.g., CeCu5.8Au0.2 [H. von Löhneysen, C.
w, R(u 3 ⬁) ⬃ u–w. For h ⫽ 0, ⌬␳ ⬃ R0T x, picture is breaking down. Pfleiderer, T. Pietrus. O. Stockert, B. Will, Phys. Rev. B
so a nondivergent resistivity at this field re- Conclusion. In summary, we have pre- 63, 134411 (2001)]}, but in these cases, the data
seem to suggest that the applied field takes the
quires R0 ⬍ ⬁; w ⬎ 0 because ⌬␳ decreases sented a detailed study and discussion of system away from a zero-field critical point. The
away from the QCP. The observed ⌬␳ ⬃ T 2 metamagnetism in the bilayer ruthenate power of field-tuning was demonstrated in studies of
as T 3 0 and h ⫽ 0 implies x ⫹ yw ⫽ 2; the Sr3Ru2O7, and have argued that it has the LiHoF4 [D. Bitko, T. F. Rosenbaum, G. Aeppli, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 77, 940 (1996)]. This system is an insulator
positivity of y and w then implies x ⬍ 2, potential to yield new insight into one of the and, in ambient field, a dipolar-coupled Ising ferro-
provided R0 ⫽ 0. most important current areas of research in magnet; its QPT is of the conventional “Ising model in
The question of why ␳res peaks is also an correlated electron physics, namely quantum a transverse field” variety.
interesting one. This feature, common in criticality. We have shown how metamag- 26. K. Sugiyama et al., J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 59, 3331 (1990).
27. A. V. Kolomiets et al., J. Appl. Phys. 83, 6435 (1998).
metamagnetic systems, seems to suggest netism can, in principle, be the source of a 28. L. Capogna, S. M. Hayden, E. M. Forgan, J. A. Duffy,
that the change in the quasi-particle mass is quantum critical point, and have presented R. S. Perry, Y. Maeno, A. P. Mackenzie, unpublished
accompanied by a rather pronounced data that strongly suggest the existence of data.
29. Our approach is as follows: The crystal symmetry
change in the scattering cross-section. An such a critical point in Sr3Ru2O7 at ambient suggests that the c-axis magnetization is conserved
implicit assumption of our analysis pressure. However, as the field is tuned in even in the presence of spin-orbit scattering, so the
throughout this paper is that the elastic and very close to the critical metamagnetic field dynamics are conservative and overdamped. Recent
neutron-scattering experiments (28) suggest that in-
inelastic contributions to the scattering rate at the lowest temperatures, there is the sudden terplane spin correlations are negligible. In the con-
are separable. This is at least partially jus- onset of behavior that cannot be explained as ventional formalism (9), critical phenomena are ex-
tified by the facts that (i) conventional QCP a simple consequence of strong critical fluc- pected to be described by the action
behavior of A is seen even when the peak in
␳res is fairly well developed (Fig. 4) and (ii)
tuations. One possibility is that because stan-
dard ordered states such as unconventional S⫽ 冘冕

d 2q
共2␲兲 2
the “double peak” structure in A very near
the transition is not seen in ␳res (Fig. 5,
superconductivity are disfavored by the pres-
ence of a large magnetic field, the correlated 冋
i␻
q 册
⫹ q 2 ⫹ r ⌽ q,␻  2 ⫹ . . .
inset). electron system is adopting a novel form of where the ellipsis denotes nonlinearities irrelevant
To our knowledge, observation of ␣ ⬎ 2 low-temperature order. The convenience of near the critical point and r ⬃ (H – Hc)1/3 parame-
trizes the deviation from the critical point at T ⫽ 0
at low temperatures near a QCP is unprece- magnetic field as a tuning parameter should (the 1/3 is the usual mean-field exponent for field
dented. The scaling analysis given above lead to future work on Sr3Ru2O7 that will tuning). Standard calculations yield A ⬃ (H – Hc)⫺2/3
confirms the intuitive expectation that such improve our understanding of quantum criti- and, at criticality, ␳ ⬃ T 4/3, not inconsistent with
behavior cannot be a simple consequence of cality and its consequences. data outside the anomalous region 7.82 T ⬍ H ⬍
7.86 T. We also note that Belitz and Kirkpatrick (30)
critical fluctuations, so we are forced to spec- have shown that in many 2d situations, the term we
ulate about other causes. The first that merits have written as q2⌽2 should be replaced by ⱍqⱍ⌽2,
careful investigation is that the tuning of the References and Notes which could lead to rather different behavior. An
1. R. B. Laughlin, D. Pines, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. important question to be addressed in the future is
critical point is not perfect at ambient pres- 97, 28 (2000). the relevance of these considerations to Sr3Ru2O7.
sure. We would then be observing the conse- 2. For recent reviews of many aspects of correlated 30. See, for example, T. R. Kirkpatrick, D. Belitz, J. Stat.
quences of a weakly first-order transition be- electron physics, see special issue on Correlated Elec- Phys. 87, 1307 (1997).
tron Systems [Science 288 (21 April 2000), pp. 461– 31. We acknowledge useful discussions with P. Coleman,
low approximately 0.5 K, perhaps accompa- 482]. R. A. Cowley, E. M. Forgan, S. M. Hayden, C. Pfleiderer,
nied by a narrow region of mesoscopic elec- 3. H. v. Löhneysen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 3262 and P. Raychaudhuri. We also thank the Leverhulme
tronic phase separation producing the (1994). Trust, the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Re-
4. N. D. Mathur et al., Nature 394, 39 (1998). search Council, and the Royal Society for valuable
anomalous transport properties. The precise
5. S. Sachdev, Quantum Phase Transitions (Cambridge financial support.
mechanism for these properties is not, how- Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1999).
ever, understood within this picture. 6. S. S. Saxena et al., Nature 406, 587 (2000). 18 June 2001; accepted 31 August 2001

332 12 OCTOBER 2001 VOL 294 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org


Magnetic Field-Tuned Quantum Criticality in the Metallic Ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7
S. A. Grigera, R. S. Perry, A. J. Schofield, M. Chiao, S. R. Julian, G. G. Lonzarich, S. I. Ikeda, Y. Maeno, A. J. Millis and A. P.
Mackenzie

Science 294 (5541), 329-332.


DOI: 10.1126/science.1063539

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REFERENCES This article cites 24 articles, 1 of which you can access for free
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/294/5541/329#BIBL

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