No Arabic abstract
We report $^{115}$In nuclear quadrupolar resonance (NQR) measurements on the heavy-fermion superconductor PuCoIn$_5$, in the temperature range $0.29{rm K}leq Tleq 75{rm K}$. The NQR parameters for the two crystallographically inequivalent In sites are determined, and their temperature dependence is investigated. A linear shift of the quadrupolar frequency with lowering temperature below the critical value $T_c$ is revealed, in agreement with the prediction for composite pairing. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}(T)$ clearly signals a superconducting (SC) phase transition at $T_csimeq 2.3$K, with strong spin fluctuations, mostly in-plane, dominating the relaxation process in the normal state near to $T_c$. Analysis of the $T_1^{-1}$ data in the SC state suggests that PuCoIn$_5$ is a strong-coupling $d$-wave superconductor.
PuCoGa$_5$ has emerged as a prototypical heavy-fermion superconductor, with its transition temperature ($T_csimeq18.5$ K) being the highest amongst such materials. Nonetheless, a clear description as to what drives the superconducting pairing is still lacking, rendered complicated by the notoriously intricate nature of plutoniums 5$f$ valence electrons. Here, we present a detailed $^{69,71}$Ga nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) study of PuCoGa$_5$, concentrating on the systems normal state properties near to $T_c$ and aiming to detect distinct signatures of possible pairing mechanisms. In particular, the quadrupole frequency and spin-lattice relaxation rate were measured for the two crystallographically inequivalent Ga sites and for both Ga isotopes, in the temperature range 1.6 K - 300 K. No evidence of significant charge fluctuations is found from the NQR observables. On the contrary, the low-energy dynamics is dominated by anisotropic spin fluctuations with strong, nearly critical, in-plane character, which are effectively identical to the case of the sister compound PuCoIn$_5$. These findings are discussed within the context of different theoretical proposals for the unconventional pairing mechanism in heavy-fermion superconductors.
Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements were performed on the heavy fermion superconductor Ce3PtIn11 with Tc = 0.32 K. The temperature dependence of both spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 and NQR spectra evidences the occurrence of two successive magnetic transitions with TN1 = 2.2 K and TN2 = 2.0 K. In successive magnetic transitions, even though the magnetic moment at the Ce(2) site plays a major role, the magnetic moment at the Ce(1) site also contributes to some extent. While a commensurate antiferromagnetic ordered state appears for TN2 < T < TN1, a partially incommensurate antiferromagnetic ordered state is suggested for T < TN2.
The thermal conductivity $kappa$ of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn$_5$ was measured as a function of temperature down to $T_c$/8, for current directions perpendicular ($J parallel a$) and parallel ($J parallel c$) to the tetragonal c axis. For $J parallel a$, a sizable residual linear term $kappa_0 / T$ is observed, as previously, which confirms the presence of line nodes in the superconducting gap. For $J parallel c$, on the other hand, $kappa / T to 0$ as $T to 0$. The resulting precipitous decline in the anisotropy ratio $kappa_c / kappa_a$ at low temperature rules out a gap structure with line nodes running along the c-axis, such as the d-wave state favoured for CeCoIn$_5$, and instead points to a hybrid gap of $E_g$ symmetry. It therefore appears that two distinct superconducting states are realized in the Ce$M$In$_5$ family.
We have measured the electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power, Hall coefficient, and magnetoresistance (MR) on single crystals of PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$, LaOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ and NdOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$. All the transport properties in PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ are similar to those in LaOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ and NdOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ at high temperatures, indicating the localized character of 4$f$-electrons. The transverse MR both in LaOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ and PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ tends to saturate for wide field directions, indicating these compounds to be uncompensated metals with no open orbit. We have determined the phase diagram of the field induced ordered phase by the MR measurement for all the principle field directions, which indicates an unambiguous evidence for the $Gamma_{rm 1}$ singlet crystalline electric field ground state.
In quasi-two dimensional Ce(Ir,Rh)In$_5$ system, it has been suggested that the phase diagram contains two distinct domes with different heavy fermion superconducting states. We here report the systematic pressure dependence of the electron transport properties in the normal state of CeRh$_{0.2}$Ir$_{0.8}$In$_{5}$ and CeIrIn$_{5}$, which locates in first and second superconducting dome, respectively. We observed non-Fermi liquid behavior at low temperatures in both compounds, including non-quadratic $T-$dependence of the resistivity, large enhancement of the Hall coefficient, and the violation of the Kohlers rule in the magnetoresistance. We show that the cotangent of Hall angle $cot Theta_H$ varies as $T^2$, and the magnetoresistance is quite well scaled by the Hall angle as $Delta rho_{xx}/rho_{xx}propto tan^2Theta_H$. The observed transport anomalies are common features of Ce$M$In$_{5}$ ($M$=Co, Rh, and Ir) and high-$T_c$ cuprates, suggesting that the anomalous transport properties observed in CeIrIn$_{5}$ are mainly governed by the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, not by the Ce-valence fluctuations which has been proposed to be the possible origin for the second superconducting dome.