No Arabic abstract
Interlayer magnetoconductance of the quasi-two dimensional organic metal (BEDT-TTF)8Hg4Cl12(C6H5Cl)2 has been investigated in pulsed magnetic fields extending up to 36 T and in the temperature range from 1.6 to 15 K. A complex oscillatory spectrum, built on linear combinations of three basic frequencies only is observed. These basic frequencies arise from the compensated closed hole and electron orbits and from the two orbits located in between. The field and temperature dependencies of the amplitude of the various oscillation series are studied within the framework of the coupled orbits model of Falicov and Stachowiak. This analysis reveals that these series result from the contribution of either conventional Shubnikov-de Haas effect (SdH) or quantum interference (QI), both of them being induced by magnetic breakthrough. Nevertheless, discrepancies between experimental and calculated parameters indicate that these phenomena alone cannot account for all of the data. Due to its low effective mass, one of the QI oscillation series - which corresponds to the whole first Brillouin zone area - is clearly observed up to 13 K.
De Haas-van Alphen oscillations are studied for Fermi surfaces illustrating the Pippards model, commonly observed in multiband organic metals. Field- and temperature-dependent amplitude of the various Fourier components, linked to frequency combinations arising from magnetic breakdown between different bands, are considered. Emphasis is put on the Onsager phase factor of these components. It is demonstrated that, in addition to the usual Maslov index, field-dependent phase factors must be considered to precisely account for the data at high magnetic field. We present compelling evidence of the existence of such contributions for the organic metal theta-(BEDT-TTF)4CoBr4(C6H4Cl2).
The low temperature phase (LTP) of alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2KHg(SCN)_4 salt is known for its surprising angular dependent magnetoresistance (ADMR), which has been studied intensively in the last decade. However, the nature of the LTP has not been understood until now. Here we analyse theoretically ADMR in unconventional (or nodal) charge density wave (UCDW). In magnetic field the quasiparticle spectrum in UCDW is quantized, which gives rise to spectacular ADMR. The present model accounts for many striking features of ADMR data in alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2KHg(SCN)_4.
The organic charge-transfer salt $kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Hg(SCN)$_{2}$Br is a quasi two-dimensional metal with a half-filled conduction band at ambient conditions. When cooled below $T=80$ K it undergoes a pronounced transition to an insulating phase where the resistivity increases many orders of magnitude. In order to elucidate the nature of this metal-insulator transition we have performed comprehensive transport, dielectric and optical investigations. The findings are compared with other dimerized $kappa$-(BEDT-TTF) salts, in particular the Cl-analogue, where a charge-order transition takes place at $T_{rm CO}=30$ K.
The effects of electron correlation in the quasi-two-dimensional organic conductor alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 are investigated theoretically by using an extended Hubbard model with on-site and nearest-neighbor Coulomb interactions. A variational Monte Carlo method is applied to study its ground-state properties. We show that there appears a nonmagnetic horizontal-stripe charge order in which nearest-neighbor correlation functions indicate a tendency toward a spin-singlet formation on the bonds with large transfer integrals along the charge-rich stripe. Under uniaxial pressure, a first-order transition from the nonmagnetic charge order to a zero-gap state occurs. Our results on a spin correlation length in the charge-ordered state suggest that a spin gap is almost unaffected by the uniaxial pressure in spite of the suppression of the charge disproportionation. The relevance of these contrasting behaviors in spin and charge degrees of freedom to recent experimental observations is discussed.
The dielectric constant and ac conductivity have been measured for the layered organic conductor theta-(BEDT-TTF)_2CsZn(SCN)_4 along the out-of-plane direction, which show a relaxation behavior similar to those in the charge-density-wave conductor. Most unexpectedly, they exhibit a large bias dependence with a hysteresis, and changes in magnitude by 100-1000 times at a threshold. These findings are very similar to the collective excitation of the charge density wave. theta-$(BEDT-TTF)_2CsZn(SCN)_4 has collective excitations associated with charge ordering, though it shows no clear indication of long range order.