Simultaneous loss of interlayer coherence and long-range magnetism in quasi-two-dimensional PdCrO2

Abstract

In many layered metals, coherent propagation of electronic excitations is often confined to the highly conducting planes. While strong electron correlations and/or proximity to an ordered phase are believed to be the drivers of this electron confinement, it is still not known what triggers the loss of interlayer coherence in a number of layered systems with strong magnetic fluctuations, such as cuprates. Here, we show that a definitive signature of interlayer coherence in the metallic-layered triangular antiferromagnet PdCrO2 vanishes at the Néel transition temperature. Comparison with the relevant energy scales and with the isostructural non-magnetic PdCoO2 reveals that the interlayer incoherence is driven by the growth of short-range magnetic fluctuations. This establishes a connection between long-range order and interlayer coherence in PdCrO2 and suggests that in many other low-dimensional conductors, incoherent interlayer transport also arises from the strong interaction between the (tunnelling) electrons and fluctuations of some underlying order.