No Arabic abstract
We report a study of the normal- and superconducting-state electronic properties of the centrosymmetric compound SrPt3P via 31P nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) and magnetometry investigations. Essential features such as a sharp drop of the Knight shift at T < Tc and an exponential decrease of the NMR spin-lattice relaxation ratio 1/(T1T) below Tc are consistent with an s-wave electron pairing in SrPt3P, although a direct confirmation in the form of a Hebel-Slichter-type peak is lacking. Normal-state NMR data at T < 50 K indicate conventional features of the conduction electrons, typical of simple metals such as lithium or silver. Our data are finally compared with available NMR results for the noncentrosymmetric superconductors LaPt$_3$Si and CePt$_3$Si, which adopt similar crystal structures.
Electrical resistivity, specific heat and NMR measurements classify non-centrosymmetric $rm Mo_3Al_2C$ ($beta$-Mn type, space group $P4_132$) as a strong-coupled superconductor with $T_c = 9$~K deviating notably from BCS-like behaviour. The absence of a Hebbel-Slichter peak, a power law behaviour of the spin-lattice relaxation rate (from $^{27}$Al NMR), a $T^3$ temperature dependence of the specific heat and a pressure enhanced $T_c$ suggest unconventional superconductivity with a nodal structure of the superconducting gap. Relativistic DFT calculations reveal a splitting of degenerate electronic bands due to the asymmetric spin-orbit coupling, favouring a mix of spin-singlet and spin triplet components in the superconducting condensate, in absence of strong correlations among electrons.
The alloys of non-centrosymmetric superconductor, Re$_3$W, which were reported to have an $alpha$-Mn structure [P. Greenfield and P. A. Beck, J. Metals, N. Y. textbf{8}, 265 (1959)] with $T_mathrm{c}=9 $K were prepared by arc melting. The ac susceptibility and low-temperature specific heat were measured on these alloys. It is found that there are two superconducting phases coexisting in the samples with $T_mathrm{c1}sim9 $K and $T_mathrm{c2}sim7 $K, both of which have a non-centrosymmetric structure as reported previously. By analyzing the specific heat data measured in various magnetic fields, we found that the absence of the inversion symmetry does not lead to the deviation from a s-wave pairing symmetry in Re$_3$W.
SrAuSi$_3$ is a noncentrosymmetric superconductor (NCS) with $T_c$ = 1.54 K, which to date has been studied only via macroscopic techniques. By combining nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon-spin rotation ($mu$SR) measurements we investigate both the normal and the superconducting phase of SrAuSi$_3$ at a local level. In the normal phase, our data indicate a standard metallic behavior with weak electron correlations and a Korringa constant $S_mathrm{exp} = 1.31 times 10^{-5}$ sK. The latter, twice the theoretical value, can be justified by the Moriya theory of exchange enhancement. In the superconducting phase, the material exhibits conventional BCS-type superconductivity with a weak-coupling s-wave pairing, a gap value $Delta(0)$ = 0.213(2) meV, and a magnetic penetration depth $lambda(0)$ = 398(2) nm. The experimental proof of weak correlations in SrAuSi$_{3}$ implies that correlation effects can be decoupled from those of antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling (ASOC), thus enabling accurate band-structure calculations in the weakly-correlated NCSs.
The pairing mechanism in iron-based superconductors is the subject of ongoing debate. Proximity to an antiferromagnetic phase suggests that pairing is mediated by spin fluctuations, but orbital fluctuations have also been invoked. The former typically favour a pairing state of extended s-wave symmetry with a gap that changes sign between electron and hole Fermi surfaces (s+-), while the latter yield a standard s-wave state without sign change (s++). Here we show that applying pressure to KFe2As2 induces a change of pairing state. The critical temperature Tc decreases with pressure initially, and then suddenly increases, above a critical pressure Pc. The constancy of the Hall coefficient through Pc rules out a change in the Fermi surface. There is compelling evidence that the pairing state below Pc is d-wave, from bulk measurements at ambient pressure. Above Pc, the high sensitivity to disorder argues for a particular kind of s+- state. The change from d-wave to s-wave is likely to proceed via an unusual s + id state that breaks time-reversal symmetry. The proximity of two distinct pairing states found here experimentally is natural given the near degeneracy of d-wave and s+- states found theoretically. These findings make a compelling case for spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity in this key iron-arsenide material.
We investigated the vortex dynamics in the non-centrosymmetric superconductor Li_2Pt_3B in the temperature range 0.1 K - 2.8 K. Two different logarithmic creep regimes in the decay of the remanent magnetization from the Bean critical state have been observed. In the first regime, the creep rate is extraordinarily small, indicating the existence of a new, very effective pinning mechanism. At a certain time a vortex avalanche occurs that increases the logarithmic creep rate by a factor of about 5 to 10 depending on the temperature. This may indicate that certain barriers against flux motion are present and they can be opened under increased pressure exerted by the vortices. A possible mechanism based on the barrier effect of twin boundaries is briefly discussed.