Crossover from Positive to Negative Interlayer Magnetoresistance in Multilayer Massless Dirac Fermion System with Non-Vertical Interlayer Tunneling

Abstract

We present a theoretical description of the interlayer magnetoresistance in the layered Dirac fermion system with the application to the organic conductor \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)_2I_3 under pressure. Assuming a non-vertical interlayer tunneling and including higher Landau level effects we calculate the interlayer conductivity using the Kubo formula.We propose a physical picture of the experimentally observed crossover from the negative interlayer magnetoresistance, where the Dirac fermion zero-energy Landau level plays a central role, to the positive interlayer magnetoresistance that is the consequence of the Landau level mixing effect upon non-vertical interlayer hopping. The crossover magnetic field depends on the Landau level broadening factor and can be used to determine the Dirac fermion Landau level energy spectrum.