Temperature scaling behavior of the linear magnetoresistance observed in high-temperature superconductors
John Singleton
Abstract
The observation of linear magnetoresistance (LMR) in ``strange metals'' such as cuprate superconductors has generated a great deal of interest and speculation. This paper presents an analytical magnetoresistance model invoking variations in the charge-carrier density. Magnetoresistance curves generated by the model are almost indistinguishable from those produced by sophisticated numerical approaches, demonstrating that, though disorder is pivotal in causing LMR, the form of the magnetoresistance is insensitive to details of the disorder. Using the analytical model, realistic levels of disorder are sufficient to explain the LMR and field-temperature resistance scaling observed in high-temperature superconductors, without the need to invoke ``strangeness''.