Competing ground states in triple-layered Sr₄Ru₃O₁₀: Verging on itinerant ferromagnetism with critical fluctuations

The triple-layered Sr₄Ru₃O₁₀ is characterized by an unexpectedly strong quasi-two dimensional characteristic, and a sharp metamagnetic transition and ferromagnetic behavior occurring within the basal plane and along the c axis, respectively. The interplane resistivity at magnetic field B, up to 32 T, exhibits very low-frequency quantum oscillations associated with the spin polarized state when B is parallel to the c axis, and a large magnetoresistivity accompanied by critical fluctuations governed by the metamagnetic transition when B is perpendicular to the c axis. The complex behavior evidenced in magnetization, specific heat, and resistivity presented is not characteristic of any obvious ground states, and points to a unusual state that shows a delicate balance between fluctuations and order. Implications of these results are discussed.