Critical State Behaviour in a Low Dimensional Metal Induced by Strong Magnetic Fields

Abstract

We present the results of magnetotransport and magnetic torque measurements on the alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4 charge-transfer salt within the high magnetic field phase, in magnetic fields extending to 33 T and temperatures as low as 27 mK. While the high magnetic field phase (at fields greater than ~ 23 T) is expected, on theoretical grounds, to be either a modulated charge-density wave phase or a charge/spin-density wave hybrid, the resistivity undergoes a dramatic drop below ~ 3 K within the high magnetic field phase, falling in an approximately exponential fashion at low temperatures, while the magnetic torque exhibits pronounced hysteresis effects. This hysteresis, which occurs over a broad range of fields, is both strongly temperature-dependent and has several of the behavioural characteristics predicted by critical-state models used to describe the pinning of vortices in type II superconductors in strong magnetic fields. Thus, rather than exhibiting the usual behaviour expected for a density wave ground state, both the transport and the magnetic properties of alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4, at high magnetic fields, closely resembles those of a type II superconductor.

References in corpus (1)

• Magnetic field - temperature phase diagram of the organic conductor alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Electronic crystals: an experimental overview
• Magnetothemopower study of quasi two-dimensional organic conductor $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)${}_2$KHg(SCN)${}_4$
• Persistent Currents in Charge-density Wave Systems
• A new quantum fluid at high magnetic fields in the marginal charge-density-wave system $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)${}_{2}M$Hg(SCN)${}_4$ (where $M=$~K and Rb)
• Experimental observation of Frohlich superconductivity in high magnetic fields
• High magnetic field-induced insulating phase in an organic conductor
• Magnetic quantum oscillations in the charge-density-wave state of the organic metals $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)${}_2$MHg(SCN)${}_4$ with M = K and Tl
• Recent high-magnetic-field studies of unusual groundstates in quasi-two-dimensional crystalline organic metals and superconductors