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

被引:155
作者
Hill, RW
Proust, C
Taillefer, L
Fournier, P
Greene, RL
机构
[1] Univ Toronto, Dept Phys, Canadian Inst Adv Res, Toronto, ON M5S 1A7, Canada
[2] Univ Maryland, Dept Phys, Ctr Superconduct Res, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
基金
加拿大自然科学与工程研究理事会; 美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
D O I
10.1038/414711a
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
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)(2)CuO4, 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.
引用
收藏
页码:711 / 715
页数:5
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