A thermodynamic and transport study of ${\mathrm{Sr}}_4{\mathrm{Ru}}_3{\mathrm{O}}_{10}$ as a function of temperature and magnetic field is presented. The central results include a growing specific heat $C$ with increasing field $B$, a magnetic contribution to $C∕T$ at low temperatures proportional to $-\log \left(T\right)$, an abrupt jump and a peak in $C∕T$ at $2.9\mathrm{T}$ and $7\mathrm{T}$ for $B\parallel ab$ plane and $B\parallel c$ axis, respectively, and corresponding changes in the low-$T$ power laws of the resistivity. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that this system is strongly anisotropic displaying spontaneous ferromagnetism along the $c$ axis and an intralayer metamagnetic transition with a possibility of a nearby quantum critical point. The exotic behavior reflects new physics that is yet to be understood.

• Received 23 October 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.024429