No Arabic abstract
We report on a pressure-induced evolution of exotic superconductivity and spin correlations in CeIr(In$_{1-x}$Cd$_{x}$)$_5$ by means of In-Nuclear-Quadrupole-Resonance (NQR) studies. Measurements of an NQR spectrum and nuclear-spin-lattice-relaxation rate $1/T_1$ have revealed that antiferromagnetism induced by the Cd-doping emerges locally around Cd dopants, but superconductivity is suddenly induced at $T_c$ = 0.7 and 0.9 K at 2.34 and 2.75 GPa, respectively. The unique superconducting characteristics with a large fraction of the residual density of state at the Fermi level that increases with $T_c$ differ from those for anisotropic superconductivity mediated by antiferromagnetic correlations. By incorporating the pressure dependence of the NQR frequency pointing to the valence change of Ce, we suggest that unconventional superconductivity in the CeIr(In$_{1-x}$Cd$_{x}$)$_5$ system may be mediated by valence fluctuations.
We report the magnetic structure of nominally 10% Cd-doped CeIrIn$_5$, CeIr(In$_{0.9}$Cd$_{0.1}$)$_5$, determined by elastic neutron scattering. Magnetic intensity was observed only at the ordering wave vector $Q_{AF} = (1/2,1/2,1/2)$, commensurate with the crystal lattice. A staggered moment of 0.47(3)$mu_B$ at 1.8 K resides on the Ce ion. The magnetic moments are found to be aligned along the crystallographic $c$ axis. This is further confirmed by magnetic susceptibility data, which suggest the $c$ axis to be the easy magnetic axis. The determined magnetic structure is strikingly different from the incommensurate antiferromagnetic ordering of the closely related compound CeRhIn$_5$, in which the magnetic moments are antiferromagnetically aligned within the tetragonal basal plane.
We investigate the excitonic fluctuation and its mediated superconductivity in the quasi one-dimensional three-chain Hubbard model for Ta$_2$NiSe$_5$ known as a candidate material for the excitonic insulator. In the semiconducting case and the semimetallic case with a small band-overlapping where one conduction ($c$) band and one valence ($f$) band cross the Fermi level, the excitonic fluctuation with $bm{q}=bm{0}$ is enhanced due to the $c$-$f$ Coulomb interaction and diverges towards the uniform excitonic order corresponding to the excitonic insulator. On the other hands, in the semimetallic case with a large band-overlapping where two $c$ bands and one $f$ band cross the Fermi level, the non-uniform excitonic fluctuation with $bm{q} eq bm{0}$ corresponding to the nesting vector between the $c$ and $f$ Fermi-surfaces (FSs) becomes dominant and results in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) excitonic order characterized by the condensation of excitons with finite center-of-mass momentum $bm{q}$. Near the instability, the largely enhanced excitonic fluctuations mediate the $c$-$f$ interband Cooper pairs with finite center-of-mass momentum resulting in the FFLO superconductivity, which is expected to be realized in the semimetallic Ta$_2$NiSe$_5$ under high pressure.
Insight into why superconductivity in pristine and doped monolayer graphene seems strongly suppressed has been central for the recent years various creative approaches to realize superconductivity in graphene and graphene-like systems. We provide further insight by studying electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity in doped monolayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride based on intrinsic phonon modes. Solving the graphene gap equation using a detailed model for the effective attraction based on electron tight binding and phonon force constant models, the various system parameters can be tuned at will. Consistent with results in the literature, we find slight gap modulations along the Fermi surface, and the high energy phonon modes are shown to be the most significant for the superconductivity instability. The Coulomb interaction plays a major role in suppressing superconductivity at realistic dopings. Motivated by the direct onset of a large density of states at the Fermi surface for small charge dopings in hexagonal boron nitride, we also calculate the dimensionless electron-phonon coupling strength there, but the comparatively large density of states cannot immediately be capitalized on, and the charge doping necessary to obtain significant electron-phonon coupling is similar to the value in graphene.
A new mechanism for superconductivity in the newly discovered Co-based oxide is proposed by using charge fluctuation. A single-band extended Hubbard model on the triangular lattice is studied within random phase approximation. $f$-wave triplet superconductivity is stabilized in the vicinity of charge-density-wave instability, which is in sharp contrast with the square-lattice case. The physical origin of the realization of the $f$-wave triplet state as well as the relevance to experiments are discussed.
High--quality single crystals of the heavy fermion superconductors CeCoIn$_5$ and CeIrIn$_5$ have been studied by means of low--temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. Methods were established to facilitate textit{in-situ} sample cleaving. Spectroscopy in CeCoIn$_5$ reveals a gap which persists to above $T_c$, possibly evidencing a precursor state to SC. Atomically resolved topographs show a rearrangement of the atoms at the crystal surface. This modification at the surface might influence the surface properties as detected by tunneling spectroscopy.