Hydrodynamic Transport Induced High-Temperature Magnetoresistance in a Dilute 2D Hole System*

We report an unusual magnetoresistance that strengthens with the temperature in a dilute two-dimensional (2D) hole system in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells with densities p=1.98−0.99×10¹⁰/cm² where r_s, the ratio between Coulomb energy and Fermi energy, is as large as 20–30. We show that, while the system exhibits a negative parabolic magnetoresistance at low temperatures (≲0.4 K) characteristic of an interacting Fermi liquid, a positive magnetoresistance emerges unexpectedly at higher temperatures, and grows with increasing temperature even in the regime k_BT∼E_F, close to the Fermi energy. This unusual positive magnetoresistance at high temperatures can be attributed to the viscous transport of 2D hole fluid in the hydrodynamic regime where holes scatter frequently with each other. These findings give insight into the collective transport of strongly interacting carriers in the r_s≫1 regime and new routes toward magnetoresistance at high temperatures.