Quantum Interference in Disordered Ferromagnet U₂NiSi₃

Abstract

A single-crystalline sample of disordered ferromagnetic U₂NiSi₃ was investigated by means of electrical resistivity measurements under ambient and high hydrostatic pressure. Temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity clearly reveal interplay of the ferromagnetic ordering and quantum interference effects resulting from crystallographic disorder. Electron-electron interaction manifests itself as a $T^{0.5}$ increase in the in-plane and out-of-plane electrical resistivity below 5 K. Weak localization is observed solely in the ab-plane as a linear-in-T contribution to resistivity, which suggests that internal magnetic field does not break the interference of scattered electron waves in ab-plane. Applied hydrostatic pressure does not affect the $T^{0.5}$ electron-electron interaction contribution, however it diminishes the impact of weak localization on the ab-plane resistivity