A simple model for normal state in- and out-of-plane resistivities of hole doped cuprates

Abstract

The highly anisotropic and qualitatively different nature of the normal state in- and out-of-plane charge dynamics in high-Tc cuprates cannot be accommodated within the conventional Boltzmann transport theory. The variation of in-plane and out-of-plane resistivities with temperature and hole content are anomalous and cannot be explained by Fermi-liquid theory. In this study, we have proposed a simple phenomenological model for the dc resistivity of cuprates by incorporating two firmly established generic features of all hole doped cuprate superconductors—(i) the pseudogap in the quasiparticle energy spectrum and (ii) the T-linear resistivity at high temperatures. This T-linear behavior over an extended temperature range can be attributed to a quantum criticality, affecting the electronic phase diagram of cuprates. Experimental in-plane and out-of-plane resistivities (ρp(T) and ρc(T), respectively) of double-layer Y(Ca)123 have been analyzed using the proposed model. This phenomenological model describes the temperature and the hole content dependent resistivity over a wide range of temperature and hole content, p. The characteristic PG energy scale, εg(p), extracted from the analysis of the resistivity data, agrees quite well with those found in variety of other experiments. Various other extracted parameters from the analysis of ρp(T) and ρc(T) data showed systematic trends with changing hole concentration. We have discussed important features found from the analysis in detail in this paper.