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Residual resistivity ratio and its relation to the positive magnetoresistance behavior in natural multilayer LaMn2Ge2; relevance to artificial multilayer physics

Results of low temperature magnetoresistance ($Δρ/ρ$) and isothermal magnetization (M) measurements on polycrystalline ferromagnetic (T_C close to 300 K) natural multilayers, LaMn_{2+x}Ge_{2-y}Si_y, are reported. It is found that the samples with large residual resistivity ratio, $ρ(300K)/ρ(4.2K)$, exhibit large positive magnetoresistance at high magnetic fields. The Kohler's rule is not obeyed in these alloys. In addition, at 4.5 K, there is a tendency towards linear variation of $Δρ/ρ$ with magnetic field with increasing $ρ(300K)/ρ(4.2K$); however, the field dependence of $Δρ/ρ$ does not track that of M, thereby suggesting that the magnetoresistance originates from non-magnetic layers. It is interesting that these experimental findings on bulk polycrystals are qualitatively similar to what is seen in artificially grown multilayer systems recently.