No Arabic abstract
Unlike the widely studied $s$-type two-gap superconductor MgB$_2$, the chemically similar compounds ZrB$_2$ and HfB$_2$ do not superconduct above 1 K. Yet, it has been shown that small amounts of self- or extrinsic doping (in particular with vanadium), can induce superconductivity in these materials. Based on results of different macro- and microscopic measurements, including magnetometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), resistivity, and muon-spin rotation ($mu$SR), we present a comparative study of Zr$_{0.96}$V$_{0.04}$B$_2$ and Hf$_{0.97}$V$_{0.03}$B$_2$. Their key magnetic and superconducting features are determined and the results are considered within the theoretical framework of multiband superconductivity proposed for MgB$_2$. Detailed Fermi surface (FS) and electronic structure calculations reveal the difference between MgB$_2$ and transition-metal diborides.
A series of 122 phase BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_x$As$_2$ ($x$ = 0, 0.055, 0.096, 0.18, 0.23) single crystals were grown by self flux method and a dome-like Ni doping dependence of superconducting transition temperature is discovered. The transition temperature $T_c^{on}$ reaches a maximum of 20.5 K at $x$ = 0.096, and it drops to below 4 K as $x$ $geq$ 0.23. The negative thermopower in the normal state indicates that electron-like charge carrier indeed dominates in this system. This Ni-doped system provides another example of superconductivity induced by electron doping in the 122 phase.
The newly discovered BaPt$_2$As$_2$ shows a structural distortion at around 275~K, followed by the emergence of superconductivity at lower temperatures. Here we identify the presence of charge density wave (CDW) order at room temperature and ambient pressure using single crystal x-ray diffraction, with both a superlattice and an incommensurate modulation, where there is a change of the superlattice structure below $simeq$ 275~K. Upon applying pressure, BaPt$_2$As$_2$ shows a rich temperature-pressure phase diagram with multiple pressure-induced transitions at high temperatures, the emergence or disappearance of which are correlated with sudden changes in the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$. These findings demonstrate that BaPt$_2$As$_2$ is a promising new system for studying competing interactions and the relationship between high-temperature electronic instabilities and superconductivity.
Mixing of topological states with superconductivity could result in topological superconductivity with the elusive Majorana fermions potentially applicable in fault-tolerant quantum computing. One possible candidate considered for realization of topological superconductivity is thin bismuth films on Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+delta}$ (Bi2212). Here, we present angle-resolved and core-level photoemission spectroscopy studies of thin Bi films grown {it in-situ} on as-grown Bi2212 that show the absence of proximity effect. We find that the electron transfer from the film to the substrate and the resulting severe underdoping of Bi2212 at the interface is a likely origin for the absence of proximity effect. We also propose a possible way of preventing a total loss of proximity effect in this system. Our results offer a better and more universal understanding of the film/cuprate interface and resolve many issues related to the proximity effect.
We report the discovery of two-phase unconventional superconductivity in CeRh$_2$As$_2$. Using thermodynamic probes, we establish that the superconducting critical field of its high-field phase is as high as 14 T, remarkable in a material whose transition temperature is 0.26 K. Furthermore, a $c$-axis field drives a transition between two different superconducting phases. In spite of the fact that CeRh$_2$As$_2$ is globally centrosymmetric, we show that local inversion-symmetry breaking at the Ce sites enables Rashba spin-orbit coupling to play a key role in the underlying physics. More detailed analysis identifies the transition from the low- to high-field states to be associated with one between states of even and odd parity.
We investigated the superconducting gap structure of SrNi$_2$P$_{2}$ ($T_c$=1.4 K) via low-temperature magneto-thermal conductivity $kappa(T,H)$ measurements. Zero field thermal conductivity $kappa$ decreases exponentially $kappa propto$ exp($-aT_c/T$) with $a$=1.5, in accord with the BCS theory, and rolls over to a phonon-like $kappapropto T^3$ behavior at low temperature, similar to a number of conventional s-wave superconductors. In addition, we observed a concave field dependence of the residual linear term $kappa_0(H)/T$. These facts strongly rule out the presence of nodes in the superconducting energy gap of SrNi$_2$P$_{2}$. Together with a fully gapped Fermi surface in the superconducting state of BaNi$_2$As$_{2}$ ($T_c$=0.6-0.7 K), demonstrated in our recent work, these results lead us to postulate that fully gapped superconductivity is a universal feature of Ni-based pnictide superconductors.