Magnetic field reveals vanishing Hall response in the normal state of stripe-ordered cuprates

Abstract

The origin of the weak insulating behavior of the resistivity, i.e. ${\rho }_{xx}\propto \ln (1/T)$, revealed when magnetic fields ($H$) suppress superconductivity in underdoped cuprates has been a longtime mystery. Surprisingly, the high-field behavior of the resistivity observed recently in charge- and spin-stripe-ordered La-214 cuprates suggests a metallic, as opposed to insulating, high-field normal state. Here we report the vanishing of the Hall coefficient in this field-revealed normal state for all $T<(2-6)T_{\mathrm{c}}^0$, where $T_{\mathrm{c}}^0$ is the zero-field superconducting transition temperature. Our measurements demonstrate that this is a robust fundamental property of the normal state of cuprates with intertwined orders, exhibited in the previously unexplored regime of $T$ and $H$. The behavior of the high-field Hall coefficient is fundamentally different from that in other cuprates such as YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{6+x}$ and YBa${}_2$Cu${}_4$O${}_8$, and may imply an approximate particle-hole symmetry that is unique to stripe-ordered cuprates. Our results highlight the important role of the competing orders in determining the normal state of cuprates.

This is a post-peer-review, precopyedit version of an article published in Nature Communications. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24000-3