Strange metal without magnetic criticality

Abstract

A mysteriously misbehaving phase Two electrons in a vacuum repel each other because they carry like charges. But in a metal, with a bunch of other electrons, in some ways they behave as if they didn't interact. This phenomenon, known as the Fermi liquid (FL) behavior, comes with a typical quadratic dependence of the solid's electrical resistance on temperature. Cases where the resistance deviates from the FL dependence are commonly associated with magnetic quantum criticality. Tomita et al. measured the resistivity of the heavy-fermion compound β-YbAlB 4 over a range of pressures and temperatures to identify a non-FL phase removed from a magnetic phase by an intervening FL. Explaining the non-FL behavior in the absence of magnetism presents a challenge to theorists. Science , this issue p. 506