Local moment, itinerancy and deviation from Fermi liquid behavior in Nax_xCoO2_2 for 0.71≤x≤0.840.71 \leq x \leq 0.84

Here we report the observation of Fermi surface (FS) pockets via the Shubnikov de Haas effect in Na$_x$CoO$_2$ for $x = 0.71$ and 0.84, respectively. Our observations indicate that the FS expected for each compound intersects their corresponding Brillouin zones, as defined by the previously reported superlattice structures, leading to small reconstructed FS pockets, but only if a precise number of holes per unit cell is \emph{localized}. For $0.71 \leq x < 0.75$ the coexistence of itinerant carriers and localized $S =1/2$ spins on a paramagnetic triangular superlattice leads at low temperatures to the observation of a deviation from standard Fermi-liquid behavior in the electrical transport and heat capacity properties, suggesting the formation of some kind of quantum spin-liquid ground state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Severe Fermi Surface Reconstruction at a Metamagnetic-Transition in Ca2−x_{2-x}Srx_xRuO4_4 (for 0.2≤x≤0.50.2 \leq x \leq 0.5)

We report an electrical transport study in Ca$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$RuO$_4$ single crystals at high magnetic fields ($B$). For $x =0.2$, the Hall constant $R_{xy}$ decreases sharply at an anisotropic metamagnetic (MM) transition reaching its value for Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ at high fields. A sharp decrease in the $A$ coefficient of the resistivity $T^2$-term and a change in the structure of the angular magnetoresistance oscillations (AMRO) for $B$ rotating in the planes, confirms the reconstruction of the Fermi surface (FS). Our observations and LDA calculations indicate a strong dependence of the FS on the Ca concentration and suggest the coexistence of itinerant and localized electronic states in single layered ruthenates.Comment: 5 pages, 4 fig

Multi-band superconductivity in LaFeAsO_{0.9}F_{0.1} single crystals probed by high-field vortex torque magnetometry

To probe manifestations of multiband superconductivity in oxypnictides, we measured the angular dependence of the magnetic torque $\tau(\theta)$ in the mixed state of LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs single crystals as a function of temperature $T$ and magnetic fields $H$ up to 18 T. The paramagnetic contribution of the Fe ions is properly treated in order to extract the effective mass anisotropy parameter $\gamma=(m_c/m_{ab})^{1/2}$ from $\tau(\theta)$. We show that $\gamma$ depends strongly on both $T$ and $H$, reaching a maximum value of $\sim$ 10 followed by a decrease towards values close to 1 as $T$ is lowered. The observed field dependencies of the London penetration depth $\lambda_{ab}$ and $\gamma$ suggest the onset of suppression of a superconducing gap at $H \approx H_{c2}/3$.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure