Local Tunneling Spectroscopy across a Metamagnetic Critical Point in the Bi-layer Ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7

Abstract

The local spectroscopic signatures of metamagnetic criticality in Sr3Ru2O7 were explored using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Singular features in the tunneling spectrum were found close to the Fermi level, as would be expected in a Stoner picture of itinerant electron metamagnetism. These features showed a pronounced magnetic field dependence across the metamagnetic critical point, which cannot be understood in terms of a naive Stoner theory. In addition, a pseudo-gap structure was observed over several tens of meV, accompanied by a c(2x2) superstructure in STM images. This result represents a new electronic ordering at the surface in the absence of any measurable surface reconstruction.