Experiment unlocks bizarre properties of strange metals

Science Daily  March 13, 2023
An iternational team of researchers (Japan, USA – University of Cincinnati, Rutgers University) fired gamma rays at an alloy of ytterbium to observe its unusual electrical behavior. They studied the charge fluctuations of the strange metal phase of β-YbAlB4 as a function of temperature and pressure they found that the usual single absorption peak in the Fermi-liquid regime splits into two peaks upon entering the critical regime. The team interpreted this spectrum as a single nuclear transition, modulated by nearby electronic valence fluctuations whose long time scales are further enhanced by the formation of charged polarons. According to the researchers these critical charge fluctuations may prove to be a distinct signature of strange metals… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE