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Breakdown of Fermi-liquid theory in a copper-oxide superconductor

Nature volume 414, pages 711–715 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The behaviour of electrons in solids is well described by Landau's Fermi-liquid theory, which predicts that although electrons in a metal interact, they can still be treated as well defined fermions, which are called ‘quasiparticles’. At low temperatures, the ability of quasiparticles to transport heat is given strictly by their ability to transport charge, as described by a universal relation known as the Wiedemann–Franz law, which hitherto no material has been known to violate. High-temperature superconductors have long been thought to fall outside the realm of Fermi-liquid theory, as suggested by several anomalous properties, but this has yet to be shown conclusively. Here we report an experimental test of the Wiedemann–Franz law in the normal state of a copper-oxide superconductor, (Pr,Ce)2CuO4, which reveals that the elementary excitations that carry heat in this material are not fermions. This is compelling evidence for the breakdown of Fermi-liquid theory in high-temperature superconductors.

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Figure 1: Electrical resistivity of PCCO versus temperature for a current in the basal plane at different values of magnetic field applied normal to the plane.
Figure 2: Thermal conductivity of PCCO for a heat current in the basal plane, plotted as κ/T versus T2, at different values of the magnetic field applied normal to the plane.
Figure 3: Comparison of charge conductivity σ(T) = 1/ρ(T), plotted as L0/ρ(T) (triangles), and electronic heat conductivity κe, plotted as κe/T (circles), as a function of temperature in the normal state at H = 13 T.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Lupien, E. Boaknin, M. Sutherland, M. Chiao, R. Gagnon, J. Brooks, L. Balicas and B. Brandt for their invaluable help in various aspects of the measurements. This work was supported by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and funded by NSERC of Canada. L.T. acknowledges the support of a Premier's Research Excellence Award from the Government of Ontario. The work in Maryland was supported by the NSF Division of Condensed Matter Physics.

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Author notes

  1. P. Fournier

    Present address: Département de Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2RI, Canada

  2. Cyril Proust

    Present address: Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Pulsés, 143 Avenue de Rangueil, BP 4245, 31432, Toulouse, Cedex 04, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A7, Ontario, Canada

    R. W. Hill, Cyril Proust & Louis Taillefer

  2. Department of Physics, Center for Superconductivity Research, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, Maryland, USA

    P. Fournier & R. L. Greene

  3. Département de Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2RI, Canada

    Cyril Proust

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Correspondence to Louis Taillefer.

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Hill, R., Proust, C., Taillefer, L. et al. Breakdown of Fermi-liquid theory in a copper-oxide superconductor. Nature 414, 711–715 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/414711a

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