No Arabic abstract
We constructed an effective tight-binding model with five Cr $3d$ orbitals for LaOCrAs according to first-principles calculations. Basing on this model, we investigated possible superconductivity induced by correlations in doped LaOCrAs using the functional renormalization group (FRG). We find that there are two domes of superconductivity in electron-doped LaOCrAs. With increasing electron doping, the ground state of the system evolves from G-type antiferromagnetism in the parent compound to an incipient $s_pm$-wave superconducting phase dominated by electron bands derived from the $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbital as the filling is above $4.2$ electrons per site on the $d$-orbitals of Cr. The gap function has strong octet anisotropy on the Fermi pocket around the zone center and diminishes on the other pockets. In electron over-doped LaOCrAs, the system develops $d_{x^2-y^2}$-wave superconducting phase and the active band derives from the $d_{xy}$ orbital. Inbetween the two superconducting domes, a time-reversal symmetry breaking $s+id$ SC phase is likely to occur. We also find $s_pm$-wave superconducting phase in the hole-doped case.
We investigated the chemical pressure effects on structural and electronic properties of SnTe-based material using partial substitution of Sn by Ag0.5Bi0.5, which results in lattice shrinkage. For Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained with a wide range of x. On the basis of band calculations, we confirmed that the Sn1-2x(AgBi)xTe system is basically possessing band inversion and topologically preserved electronic states. To explore new superconducting phases related to the topological electronic states, we investigated the In-doping effects on structural and superconducting properties for x = 0.33 (AgSnBiTe3). For (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained for y = 0-0.5 by high-pressure synthesis. Superconductivity was observed for y = 0.2-0.5. For y = 0.4, specific heat investigation confirmed the emergence of bulk superconductivity. Because the parameters obtained from specific heat analyses were comparable to In-doped SnTe, we expect that the (AgSnBi)(1-y)/3InyTe and other (Ag,In,Sn,Bi)Te phases are a candidate system for studying topological superconductivity.
Electron-doped and hole-doped superconducting cuprates exhibit a symmetric phase diagram as a function of doping. This symmetry is however only approximate. Indeed, electron-doped cuprates become superconductors only after a specific annealing process: This annealing affects the oxygen content only by a tiny amount, but has a dramatic impact on the electronic properties of the sample. Here, we report the occurrence of superconductivity in oxygen-deficient Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ thin films grown in oxygen-free environment, after annealing in pure argon flow. As verified by x-ray diffraction, annealing induces an increase of the interlayer distance between CuO$_2$ planes in the crystal structure. Since this distance is correlated to the concentration of oxygens in apical positions, and since oxygen content cannot substantially increase during annealing, our experiments indicate that the superconducting phase transition has to be ascribed to a migration of oxygen ions to apical positions during annealing. Moreover, as we confirm via first-principles density functional theory calculations, the changes in the structural and transport properties of the films can be theoretically described by a specific redistribution of the existing oxygens ions at apical positions with respect to CuO$_2$ planes, which remodulates the electronic band structure and suppresses the antiferromagnetic order, allowing the emergence of hole superconductivity.
We have performed a systematic angle-resolved photoemission study of as-grown and oxygen-reduced Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ and Pr$_{1-x}$LaCe$_{x}$CuO$_4$ electron-doped cuprates. In contrast to the common belief, neither the band filling nor the band parameters are significantly affected by the oxygen reduction process. Instead, we show that the main electronic role of the reduction process is to remove an anisotropic leading edge gap around the Fermi surface. While the nodal leading edge gap is induced by long-range antiferomagnetic order, the origin of the antinodal one remains unclear.
We report theoretical and experimental results on transition metal pnictide WP. The theoretical outcomes based on tight-binding calculations and density functional theory indicate that WP exhibits the nonsymmorphic symmetries and is an anisotropic three-dimensional superconductor. This conclusion is supported by magnetoresistance experimental data as well as by the investigation of the superconducting fluctuations of the conductivity in the presence of a magnetic external field, both underlining a three dimensional behavior.
Here we report the synthesis and basic characterization of LaFe1-xCoxAsO for several values of x. The parent phase LaFeAsO orders antiferromagnetically (TN ~ 145 K). Replacing Fe with Co is expected to both electron dope the system and introduce disorder in the FeAs layer. For x = 0.05 antiferromagnetic order is destroyed and superconductivity is observed at Tconset = 11.2 K. For x = 0.11 superconductivity is observed at Tc(onset) = 14.3 K, and for x = 0.15 Tc = 6.0 K. Superconductivity is not observed for x = 0.2 and 0.5, but for x = 1, the material appears to be ferromagnetic (Tc ~ 56 K) as judged by magnetization measurements. We conclude that Co is an effective dopant to induce superconductivity. Somewhat surprisingly, the system appears to tolerate considerable disorder in the FeAs planes.