No Arabic abstract
We report synthesis of non-centrosymmetric BiPd single crystal by self flux method. The BiPd single crystal is crystallized in monoclinic structure with the P21 space group. Detailed SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) results show that the crystals are formed in slab like morphology with homogenous distribution of Bi and Pd. The magnetic susceptibility measurement confirmed that the BiPd compound is superconducting below 4K. Further, BiPd exhibits weak ferromagnetism near the superconducting transition temperature in isothermal magnetization (MH) measurements. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity also confirmed that the BiPd single crystal is superconducting at Tc=4K. Magneto transport measurements showed that the estimated Hc2(0) value is around 7.0kOe. We also obtained a sharp peak in heat capacity Cp(T) measurements at below 4K due to superconducting ordering. The normalized specific-heat jump, DC/{gamma}Tc, is 1.52, suggesting the BiPd to be an intermediate BCS coupled superconductor. The pressure dependent electrical resistivity shows the Tc decreases with increasing applied pressure and the obtained dTc/dP is -0.62K/Gpa.
Quantum materials having Dirac fermions in conjunction with superconductivity is believed to be the candidate materials to realize exotic physics as well as advanced technology. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), a direct probe of the electronic structure, has been extensively used to study these materials. However, experiments often exhibit conflicting results on dimensionality and momentum of the Dirac Fermions (e.g. Dirac states in BiPd, a novel non-centrosymmetric superconductor), which is crucial for the determination of the symmetry, time-reversal invariant momenta and other emerging properties. Employing high-resolution ARPES at varied conditions, we demonstrated a methodology to identify the location of the Dirac node accurately and discover that the deviation from two-dimensionality of the Dirac states in BiPd proposed earlier is not a material property. These results helped to reveal the topology of the anisotropy of the Dirac states accurately. We have constructed a model Hamiltonian considering higher-order spin-orbit terms and demonstrate that this model provides an excellent description of the observed anisotropy. Intriguing features of the Dirac states in a non-centrosymmetric superconductor revealed in this study expected to have significant implication in the properties of topological superconductors.
We have investigated the superconducting state of the non-centrosymmetric compound Re6Zr using magnetization, heat capacity, and muon-spin relaxation/rotation (muSR) measurements. Re6Zr has a superconducting transition temperature, Tc = 6.75 K. Transverse-field muSR experiments, used to probe the superfluid density, suggest an s-wave character for the superconducting gap. However, zero and longitudinal-field muSR data reveal the presence of spontaneous static magnetic fields below Tc indicating that time-reversal symmetry is broken in the superconducting state and an unconventional pairing mechanism. An analysis of the pairing symmetries identifies the ground states compatible with time-reversal symmetry breaking.
In this article, we report the occurrence of superconductivity in Sn0.4Sb0.6 single crystal at below 4K. Rietveld refined Powder XRD data confirms the phase purity of as grown crystal, crystallizing in rhombohedral R-3m space group with an elongated (2xc) unit cell in c-direction. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image and EDAX measurement confirm the laminar growth and near to desired stoichiometry ratio. Raman Spectroscopy data shows the vibrational modes of Sn-Sb and Sb-Sb modes at 110 and 135cm-1. ZFC (Zero-Field-Cooled) magnetization measurements done at 10Oe showed sharp superconducting transitions at 4K along with a minor step at 3.5K. On the other hand, Paramagnetic Meissner Effect (PME) is observed in FC measurements. Magnetization vs applied field (M-H) plots at 2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.7, 3, 3.2, 3.5, and 3.7K shows typical Type-II nature of observed superconductivity with lower and upper critical fields (Hc1 and Hc2) at 69.42Oe and 630Oe respectively at 2K. Type-II superconductivity is also confirmed by calculated Ginzburg-Landau Kappa parameter value of 3.55. Characteristics length viz. coherence length and penetration depth are also calculated. Weak granular coupling is observed from R-T plot, in which resistance is not dropping to zero down to 2K.
Combining multiple emergent correlated properties such as superconductivity and magnetism within the topological matrix can have exceptional consequences in garnering new and exotic physics. Here, we study the topological surface states from a noncentrosymmetric $alpha$-BiPd superconductor by employing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first principle calculations. We observe that the Dirac surface states of this system have several interesting and unusual properties, compared to other topological surface states. The surface state is strongly anisotropic and the in-plane Fermi velocity varies rigorously on rotating the crystal about the $y$-axis. Moreover, it acquires an unusual band gap as a function of $k_y$, possibly due to hybridization with bulk bands, detected upon varying the excitation energy. Coexistence of all the functional properties, in addition to the unusual surface state characteristics make this an interesting material.
We report the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements for non-centrosymmetric superconductors Re7B3, LaBiPt, and BiPd containing heavy elements. For all three compounds, the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 shows a coherence peak just below Tc and decreases exponentially at low temperatures, which indicates that an isotropic superconducting gap is dominant in these compounds. In BiPd, the height of the coherence peak just below Tc is much suppressed, which suggests that there exists a substantial component of gap with nodes in this compound. Our results indicate that heavy element is not the only factor, but the extent of inversion symmetry breaking is also important to induce a large spin-orbit coupling and an unconventional superconducting state.