Transport properties of an infinite-layer nickelate

The electronic structure of the rare-earth infinite-layer nickelates is quite similar to that of the layered cuprate superconductors, except that in the rare earth nickelates a rare-earth spectator band that gives rise to a self-doping effect and offers an additional degree of freedom. The effect the rare-earth band has on the physics of these materials is an open question. Here, we investigate the transport properties of an infinite-layer nickelate, NdNiO₂ using a combination of density-functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory to understand the effects the spectator band has on the electronic transport. We reveal that the calculated conductivity is orders of magnitude larger than experiment However, upon including scattering processes on the spectator band, the conductivity is significantly reduced. These results offer new insights into the low-energy physics of the infinite-layer nickelates and can be extended to the higher-order layered nickelates.