Nature publishes evidence for a three-dimensional quantum Hall effect in bulk ZrTe₅
Low-temperature measurements on bulk crystals revealed a Hall plateau together with longitudinal resistivity close to zero.
Can an effect best known from two-dimensional electron systems leave a measurable signature in a bulk crystal? The collaboration measured high-quality ZrTe₅ at low temperatures. When only the lowest Landau level was occupied, a Hall resistivity plateau emerged and the longitudinal resistivity approached zero. A further increase in field produced a metal–insulator transition.
The collaboration included Liyuan Zhang’s group at SUSTech and Zhenhua Qiao’s group at the University of Science and Technology of China. Zhang, Qiao and Shengyuan A. Yang of the Singapore University of Technology and Design are the corresponding authors. SUSTech published a news report the day after the paper appeared online.