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Strongly Enhanced Magnetic Fluctuations in a Heavy-mass Layered Ruthenate

We have studied the magnetic excitations in Ca$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$RuO$_4$, x=0.52 and 0.62, which exhibit an anomalous high susceptibility and heavy mass Fermi liquid behavior. Our inelastic neutron scattering experiments reveal strongly enhanced magnetic fluctuations around an incommensurate wave vector (0.22,0,0) pointing to a magnetic instability. The magnetic fluctuations show no correlation in c-direction and also along the RuO$_2$-planes the signal is extremely broad, $Δq =0.45$ Å$^{-1}$. These fluctuations can quantitatively account for the high specific heat coefficient and relate to the high macroscopic susceptibility. The magnetic scattering is attributed to the $γ$-band, the active band for spin triplet superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$.