Theory of Resistivity Upturns in Metallic Cuprates

Abstract

We propose that the experimentally observed resistivity upturn of cuprates at low temperatures may be explained by properly accounting for the effects of disorder in a strongly correlated metallic host. Within a calculation of the DC conductivity using real-space diagonalization of a Hubbard model treated in an inhomogeneous unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation, we find that correlations induce magnetic droplets around impurities, and give rise to additional magnetic scattering which causes the resistivity upturn. A pseudogap in the density of states is shown to enhance both the disorder-induced magnetic state and the resistivity upturns.