A strongly correlated polar metal LiOsO3

ORAL

Abstract

LiOsO3 is metallic and undergoes a second-order transition to a polar phase at Tc≈140 K. This unusual property provides a unique opportunity to study the interplay between itinerant electrons and electric dipoles. We report a suite of measurements of the properties of LiOsO3 versus temperature, including resistivity and magnetoresisitance on a single crystal sample down to 0.16 K; Seebeck coefficient, Hall coefficient, high-precision magnetization, and the specific heat were made on polycrystalline samples. The results indicate that electrons become strongly correlated in responding to ferroelectric ordering of dipoles. We have monitored how the thermal conductivity is changed by dipole fluctuations at the transition and how it is influenced by ferroelectric domain boundaries at low temperatures to obtain information on interaction between the electrons and the dipoles. The observation of a transition from glassy to phonon-like thermal conductivity on cooling through Tc provides a solid proof that the ferroelectric transition is an order-disorder, not a displacive transition.

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Presenters

  • Jianshi Zhou

    Texas Materials Institute, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, University of Texas (Austin, USA), Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

Authors

  • Jianshi Zhou

    Texas Materials Institute, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, University of Texas (Austin, USA), Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA

  • John Goodenough

    Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

  • Kazunari Yamaura

    National Institute for Materials Science, Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials Science, Superconducting Properties unit, National Institute for Materials Science

  • Xiang Li

    Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

  • Y. Shirako

    Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin