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Register a new userHeavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCoIn5 at 2.3K
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We report the observation of heavy-fermion superconducitivity in CeCoIn5 at Tc =2.3 K. When compared to the pressure-induced Tc of its cubic relative CeIn3 (Tc ~200 mK), the Tc of CeCoIn5 is remarkably high. We suggest that this difference may arise from magnetically mediated superconductivity in the layered crystal structure of CeCoIn5 .
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The high field superconducting state in CeCoIn5 has been studied by transverse field muon spin rotation measurements with an applied field parallel to the crystallographic c-axis close to the upper critical field Hc2 = 4.97 T. At magnetic fields >= 4.8 T the muon Knight shift is enhanced and the superconducting transition changes from second order towards first order as predicted for Pauli-limited superconductors. The field and temperature dependence of the transverse muon spin relaxation rate sigma reveal paramagnetic spin fluctuations in the field regime from 2 T < H < 4.8 T. In the normal state close to Hc2 correlated spin fluctuations as described by the self consistent renormalization theory are observed. The results support the formation of a mode-coupled superconducting and antiferromagnetically ordered phase in CeCoIn5 for H directed parallel to the c-axis.
The formation of heavy fermion bands can occur by means of the conversion of a periodic array of local moments into itinerant electrons via the Kondo effect and the huge consequent Fermi-liquid renormalizations. Leggett predicted for liquid $^3$He that Fermi-liquid renormalizations change in the superconducting state, leading to a temperature dependence of the London penetration depth~$Lambda$ quite different from that in the BCS theory. Using Leggetts theory, as modified for heavy fermions, it is possible to extract from the measured temperature dependence of $Lambda$ in high quality samples both Landau parameters $F_0^s$ and $F_1^s$; this has never been accomplished before. A modification of the temperature dependence of the specific heat $C_mathrm{el}$, related to that of $Lambda$, is also expected. We have carefully determined the magnitude and temperature dependence of $Lambda$ in CeCoIn$_5$ by muon spin relaxation rate measurements to obtain $F_0^s = 36 pm 1$ and $F_1^s = 1.2 pm 0.3$, and find a consistent change in the temperature dependence of electronic specific heat $C_mathrm{el}$. This, the first determination of $F_1^s$ with a value~$ll F_0^s$ in a heavy fermion compound, tests the basic assumption of the theory of heavy fermions, that the frequency dependence of the self-energy is much more important than its momentum dependence.
We have succeeded in growing single crystals of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCo(In1-xZnx)5 with x<=0.07. Measurements of specific heat, electrical resistivity, dc magnetization and ac susceptibility revealed that the superconducting (SC) transition temperature Tc decreases from 2.25 K (x=0) to 1.8 K (x=0.05) by doping Zn into CeCoIn5. Furthermore, these measurements indicate a development of a new ordered phase below T_o ~ 2.2 K for x=>0.05, characterized by the reduced magnetization and electrical resistivity in the ordered phase, and the enhancement of specific heat at T_o. This phase transition can be also recognized by the shoulder-like anomaly seen at H_o ~ 55 kOe in the field variations of the magnetization at low temperatures, which is clearly distinguished from the superconducting critical fields Hc2=49 kOe for x=0.05 and 42 kOe for x=0.07. We suggest from these results that the antiferromagnetic (AFM) order is generated by doping Zn, and the interplay between the SC and AFM orders is realized in CeCo(In1-xZnx)5.
We grew single crystals of the recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe2, and measured the resistivity, specific heat and magnetoresistance. Superconductivity (SC) was clearly detected at Tsc=1.65K as sharp drop of the resistivity in a high quality sample of RRR=35. The specific heat shows a large jump at Tsc indicating strong coupling. The large Sommerfeld coefficient, 117mJ K-2mol-1 extrapolated in the normal state and the temperature dependence of C/T below Tsc are the signature of unconventional SC. The discrepancy in the entropy balance at Tsc between SC and normal states points out that hidden features must occur. Surprisingly, a large residual value of the Sommerfeld coefficient seems quite robust (gamma_0/gamma ~ 0.5). The large upper critical field Hc2 along the three principal axes favors spin-triplet SC. For H // b-axis, our experiments do not reproduce the huge upturn of Hc2 reported previously. This discrepancy may reflect that Hc2 is very sensitive to the sample quality. A new perspective in UTe2 is the proximity of a Kondo semiconducting phase predicted by the LDA band structure calculations.
Understanding the origin of superconductivity in strongly correlated electron systems continues to be at the forefront of unsolved problems in all of physics. Among the heavy f-electron systems, CeCoIn5 is one of the most fascinating, as it shares many of the characteristics of correlated d-electron high-Tc cuprate and pnictide superconductors, including the competition between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. While there has been evidence for unconventional pairing in this compound, high-resolution spectroscopic measurements of the superconducting state have been lacking. Previously, we have used high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy techniques to visualize the emergence of heavy-fermion excitations in CeCoIn5 and demonstrate the composite nature of these excitations well above Tc. Here we extend these techniques to much lower temperatures to investigate how superconductivity develops within a strongly correlated band of composite excitations. We find the spectrum of heavy excitations to be strongly modified just prior to the onset of superconductivity by a suppression of the spectral weight near the Fermi energy, reminiscent of the pseudogap state in the cuprates. By measuring the response of superconductivity to various perturbations, through both quasiparticle interference and local pair-breaking experiments, we demonstrate the nodal d-wave character of superconducting pairing in CeCoIn5.
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