Magnetoresistance of Untwinned YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y} Single Crystals in a Wide Range of Doping: Anomalous Hole-Doping Dependence of the Coherence Length

Abstract

Magnetoresistance (MR) in the a-axis resistivity of untwinned YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{y} single crystals is measured for a wide range of doping (y = 6.45 - 7.0). The y-dependence of the in-plane coherence length ξ_{ab} estimated from the fluctuation magnetoconductance indicates that the superconductivity is anomalously weakened in the 60-K phase; this gives evidence, together with the Hall coefficient and the a-axis thermopower data that suggest the hole doping to be 12% for y = 6.65, that the origin of the 60-K plateau is the 1/8 anomaly. At high temperatures, the normal-state MR data show signatures of the Zeeman effect on the pseudogap in underdoped samples.

4 pages, 6 figures (including one color figure), final version accepted for publication in PRL. The paper now emphasizes that the origin of the "60-K plateau" has been clearly sorted out in this work