Agradecimentos: We thank G. Boebinger, P. M. Chaikin, T. Giamarchi, and A. MacDonald for useful discussions and E. Palm and T. Murphy for their assistance. K.B. is supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (contract no. ANR-05-BLAN-0055-02) and by Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (subvention...

Agradecimentos: We thank G. Boebinger, P. M. Chaikin, T. Giamarchi, and A. MacDonald for useful discussions and E. Palm and T. Murphy for their assistance. K.B. is supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (contract no. ANR-05-BLAN-0055-02) and by Délégation Générale pour l'Armement (subvention no. 06.60.031.00.470.75.01) and acknowledges a visiting scientist fellowship by National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHFML). L.B. is supported by the NHMFL in-house research program. Y.K. is supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). Research at the NHMFL is supported by NSF Cooperative Agreement no. DMR-0084173, by the State of Florida, and by the Department of Energy

Abstract: Because of the long Fermi wavelength of itinerant electrons, the quantum limit of elemental bismuth (unlike most metals) can be attained with a moderate magnetic field. The quantized orbits of electrons shrink with increasing magnetic field. Beyond the quantum limit, the circumference of...

Abstract: Because of the long Fermi wavelength of itinerant electrons, the quantum limit of elemental bismuth (unlike most metals) can be attained with a moderate magnetic field. The quantized orbits of electrons shrink with increasing magnetic field. Beyond the quantum limit, the circumference of these orbits becomes shorter than the Fermi wavelength. We studied transport coefficients of a single crystal of bismuth up to 33 tesla, which is deep in this ultraquantum limit. The Nernst coefficient presents three unexpected maxima that are concomitant with quasi-plateaus in the Hall coefficient. The results suggest that this bulk element may host an exotic quantum fluid reminiscent of the one associated with the fractional quantum Hall effect and raise the issue of electron fractionalization in a three-dimensional metal

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP

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