We report on the synthesis and on basic superconducting properties of a completely new Mo_2Re_3B ternary boride. The crystal structure of the Mo_2Re_3B compound is characterised by Pmmm space group and the cell parameters: a=11.626 A, b=8.465 A and c=8.026 A. The critical temperature is Tc=8.5 K, whereas the lower and the upper-critical fields at zero temperature are equal to Hc1(0)=19.2 mT and to Hc2(0)=3.7 T, respectively. The corresponding Ginzburg-Landau parameter is equal to k=16.5 and the superconducting gap is estimated to be 2delta/kTc=3.2.
We report superconductivity in novel iron-based compounds Ca10(PtnAs8)(Fe2-xPtxAs2)5 with n = 3 and 4. Both compounds crystallize in triclinic structures (space group P-1), in which Fe2As2 layers alternate with PtnAs8 spacer layers. Superconductivity with a transition temperature of 38 K is observed in the n = 4 compound with a Pt content of x ~ 0.36 in the Fe2As2 layers. The compound with n = 3 exhibits superconductivity at 13 K.
Recent thermal conductivity measurements in the heavy-fermion compound CeIrIn_5 indicate that its superconducting order parameter is very different from CeCoIn_5. Here we show that these experiments are consistent with chiral d-wave symmetry.
Crystal structure and physical properties of the novel BiS2-based layered superconductors are briefly reviewed. Superconductivity in the BiS2-based layered compounds is induced by electron doping into the BiS2 conduction layers. The superconducting properties seem to correlate with the crystal structure. Possible strategies for increasing transition temperature in this family are discussed.
Superconductive properties of the two-leg ladder compounds are studied theoretically. The antiferromagnetic fluctuations are considered because of the good nesting of the Fermi surfaces. The attractive interaction which is most likely due to the electron-phonon coupling is also taken into account. Under this circumstance, it is shown that the superconductivity has two sets of spin-triplet pairings. The gaps for both pairings have no node.
This review discusses the heavy-fermion superconductivity in Ce- and U-based compounds crystallizing in the body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure. Special attention will be paid to the theoretical background of these systems which are located close to a magnetic instability.
We investigate the superconductivity of carbon compounds with a sodalite structure, which are similar to hydrogen compounds showing the high-temperature superconductivity. A systematic analysis by first-principles calculations is carried out, including examination of mechanical and dynamic instabilities under external pressure $P$. These instabilities are classified on the phase diagram for the effective doping charge versus the lattice constant of the system. We also present the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ as a function of $P$ for many carbon compounds and a pure carbon…
We give a brief review of superconductivity at ambient pressure in elements, alloys, and simple three-dimensional compounds. Historically these were the first superconducting materials studied, and based on the experimental knowledge gained from them the BCS theory of superconductivity was developed in 1957. Extended to include the effect of phonon retardation, the theory is believed to describe the subset of superconducting materials known as `conventional superconductors', where superconductivity is caused by the electron-phonon interaction. These include the elements, alloys and simple comp…
The thermal conductivity of the heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12 was measured down to Tc/40 throughout the vortex state. At lowest temperatures and for magnetic fields H ~ 0.07Hc2, already 40% of the normal state thermal conductivity is restored. This behaviour (similar to that observed in MgB2) is a clear signature of multiband superconductivity in this compound.
Superconductivity in the electric field-effect doped infinite layer compound CaCuO2 is considered. It is argued that in the superconducting CuO2 layer, next to the insulating Al2O3 overlayer, the coordination of the Cu2+ ions by oxygens is pyramidal rather than square planar. This view stems from existing NEXAFS and the analysis of HRETM results, as well as chemical considerations, and is discussed mainly for the hole doped but also the electron doped region of the phase diagramm.
Polycrystalline samples of F-substituted LnOBiS2 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Yb) compounds were synthesized by solid-state reaction. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction measurements and found to have the ZrCuSiAs crystal structure. Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed on all of the samples and specific heat measurements were made on those with Ln = La, Ce, and Yb. All of these compounds exhibit superconductivity in the range 1.9 K - 5.4 K, which has not previously been reported for the compounds based on Ce, Pr, and Yb. The YbO0.5F0.5BiS2 com…
Since the discovery of superconductivity in a high-entropy alloy (HEA) Ti-Zr-Nb-Hf-Ta in 2014, the community of superconductor science has explored new HEA superconductors to find the merit of the HEA states on superconducting properties. Since 2018, we have developed HEA-type compounds as superconductors or thermoelectric materials. As well known, compounds like intermetallic compounds or layered compounds are composed of multi crystallographic sites. In a HEA-type compounds, one or more sites are alloyed and total mixing entropy satisfies with the criterion of HEA. Herein, we summarize the s…
The intermetallic compound, YRhAl, has been prepared and is found to be isomorphic with RRhAl (R=Pr, Nd, Gd, Ho and Tm) compounds crystallizing in the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure (Space group Pnma). Heat capacity and electrical resistivity measurements in the He-3 temperature range reveal that this compound is superconducting with a transition temperature, Tc, of 0.9 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient, gamma, and the Debye temperature are found to be 6.1 mJ/mole K and 197 K, respectively. The specific heat jump at the superconducting transition temperature is found to be consis…
We have studied the half-Heusler compound TbPdBi through resistivity, magnetization, Hall effect and heat capacity measurements. A semimetal behavior is observed in its normal state transport properties, which is characterized by a large negative magnetoresistance below 100 K. Notably, we find the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in this compound. The superconducting transition appears at 1.7 K, while the antiferromagnetic phase transition takes place at 5.5 K. The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ shows an unusual linear temperature dependence, implying unconventional super…
The structural misfit compound (PbSe)1.16(TiSe2)2 is reported. It is a superconductor with a Tc of 2.3 K. (PbSe)1.16(TiSe2)2 derives from a parent compound, TiSe2, which shows a charge density wave transition and no superconductivity. The crystal structure, characterized by high resolution electron microscopy and powder x-ray diffraction, consists of two layers of 1T-TiSe2 alternating with a double layer of (100) PbSe. Transport measurements suggest that the superconductivity is induced by charge transfer from the PbSe layers to the TiSe2 layers.
We carefully studied the nonsuperconducting sample of the magneto-superconducting RuSr2(Eu1-xCex)Cu2O10 series with composition RuSr2EuCeCu2O10. This compound seems to exhibit a complex magnetic state as revealed by host of techniques like resistivity, thermopower, magnetic susceptibility and MR measurements.
The out-of-plane intercalate phonons of superconducting YbC6 have been measured with inelastic x-ray scattering. Model fits to this data, and previously measured out-of-plane intercalate phonons in graphite intercalation compounds (GICs), reveal surprising trends with the superconducting transition temperature. These trends suggest that superconducting GICs should be viewed as electron-doped graphite.
A series of high-pressure resistivity measurements on single crystals of TbTe3 reveal a complex phase diagram involving the interplay of superconducting, antiferromagnetic and charge density wave orders. The onset of superconductivity reaches a maximum of ~ 3.5 K (onset) near 75 kbar.
The field of superconductivity in the class of materials known as graphite intercalation compounds has a history dating back to the 1960s. This paper recontextualizes the field in light of the discovery of superconductivity in CaC6 and YbC6 in 2005. In what follows, we outline the crystal structure and electronic structure of these and related compounds. We go on to experiments addressing the superconducting energy gap, lattice dynamics, pressure dependence, and how this relates to theoretical studies. The bulk of the evidence strongly supports a BCS superconducting state. However, important q…
Here we report the superconductivity in the iron-based oxyarsenide Sm[O1-xFx]FeAs, with the onset resistivity transition temperature at 55.0 K and Meissner transition at 54.6 K. This compound has the same crystal structure as LaOFeAs with shrunk crystal lattices, and becomes the superconductor with the highest critical temperature among all materials besides copper oxides.
We present a review of basic experimental facts on the new class of high - temperature superconductors - iron based layered compounds like REOFeAs (RE=La,Ce,Nd,Pr,Sm...), AFe_2As_2 (A=Ba,Sr...), AFeAs (A=Li,...) and FeSe(Te). We discuss electronic structure, including the role of correlations, spectrum and role of collective excitations (phonons, spin waves), as well as the main models, describing possible types of magnetic ordering and Cooper pairing in these compounds.
The iron-based superconductors had a significant impact on condensed matter physics. They have a common structural motif of a two-dimensional square iron lattice and exhibit fruitful physical properties as a strongly correlated electron system. During the extensive investigations, quasi-one-dimensional iron-based spin-ladder compounds attracted much attention as a platform for studying the interplay between magnetic and orbital ordering. In these compounds, BaFe2S3 and BaFe2Se3 were found to exhibit superconductivity under high pressure, having a different crystal and magnetic structure at low…
We discovered a novel annealing method for Fe-chalcogenide superconductors. It was found that sulfur annealing deintercalated excess Fe via formation of FeS2. Due to its specifics, sulfur annealing is applicable when preparing Fe-chalcogenide-based wires or cables.
We found superconductivity in CaSb$_2$ with the transition temperature of 1.7 K by means of electrical-resistivity, magnetic-susceptibility, and specific-heat measurements. This material crystallizes in a nonsymmorphic structure and is predicted to have multiple Dirac nodal lines in the bulk electronic band structure protected by symmetry even in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. We discuss a possible topological superconductivity for the quasi-2-dimensional band originating mainly from one of the antimony sites.
We examine superconductivity in layered systems with large Fermi-surface splitting due to coexisting ferromagnetic layers. In particular, the hybrid ruthenate-cuprate compound RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8 is examined on the coexistence of the superconductivity and the ferromagnetism, which has been observed recently. We calculate critical fields of the superconductivity taking into account the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state in a model with Fermi-surfaces which shapes are similar to those obtained by a band calculation. It is shown that the critical field is enhanced remarkably due to a Fermi-surfac…
CeNi0.8Bi2 is very recent entrant in superconductivity kitchen [1], and the same seeks reproduction from other groups. We report synthesis, structural details and superconductivity in CeNi0.8Bi2 compound. The CeNi0.8Bi2 compound is synthesized by solid state reaction route via vacuum encapsulation of high purity mixed Ce, Ni, Bi and subsequent heating of the same at 500 0C for 10 hours followed by annealing at 750 0C for 20 hours. As synthesized compounds are dark grey in color and do crystallize in tetragonal structure with space group P4/nmm. The lattice parameters are a = 3.61 Å and c = 10.…
We report superconductivity in polycrystalline samples of the 1038-type compounds (Ca$_{1-x}$RE$_x$)$_{10}$(FeAs)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$) up to T$_c$ = 35 K with RE = Y, La-Nd, Sm, Gd-Lu. The critical temperatures are independent of the trivalent rare earth element used, yielding an universal T$_c$($x$) phase diagram for electron doping in all these systems. The absence of superconductivity in Eu$^{2+}$ doped samples, as well as the close resemblance of (Ca$_{1-x}$RE$_x$)$_{10}$(FeAs)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$) to the 1048 compound substantiate that the electron doping scenario in the RE-1038 and 1048 …
Systematical doping studies have been carried out to search for the possible superconductivity in the transition metal doped Zr$_5$Ge$_3$ system. Superconductivity up to 5.7K is discovered in the Ru-doped Zr$_5$Ge$_{2.5}$Ru$_{0.5}$ sample. Interestingly, with the same Ru-doping, superconductivity is only induced with doping at the Ge site, but remains absent down to 1.8K with doping at the Zr site or interstitial site. Both magnetic and transport studies have revealed the bulk superconductivity nature for Ru-doped Zr$_5$Ge$_{2.5}$Ru$_{0.5}$ sample. The high upper critical field, enhanced elect…
Kamihara and coworkers' report of superconductivity at Tc = 26 K in fluorine-doped LaFeAsO inspired a worldwide effort to understand the nature of the superconductivity in this new class of compounds. These iron pnictide and chalcogenide (FePn/Ch) superconductors have Fe electrons at the Fermi surface, plus an unusual Fermiology that can change rapidly with doping, which lead to normal and superconducting state properties very different from those in standard electron-phonon coupled 'conventional' superconductors. Clearly superconductivity and magnetism/magnetic fluctuations are intimately rel…
The synthesis of LixBC (x > 0.5) by high temperature Li deintercalation from LiBC is demonstrated by refinement of X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data - contrary to theoretical expectation no superconductivity above 2K is observed in these materials
The layered iron superconductors are discussed using electronic structure calculations. The four families of compounds discovered so far, including Fe(Se,Te) have closely related electronic structures. The Fermi surface consists of disconnected hole and electron cylinders and additional hole sections that depend on the specific material. This places the materials in proximity to itinerant magnetism, both due to the high density of states and due to nesting. Comparison of density functional results and experiment provides strong evidence for itinerant spin fluctuations, which are discussed in r…
We propose that screened pairing interactions mediated by phonons could give rise to a spin triplet superconductivity in ferromagnetic compounds such as UGe_2. It is pointed out that the pairing interactions include anisotropic components such as those of p, d, f-waves in addition to dominant s-wave component due to the momentum dependence. Since the ferromagnetic long-range order coexists, there is a large splitting of the Fermi surfaces of up and down spin electrons, which suppresses singlet pairing. Therefore, triplet pairing occurs at last due to the sub-dominant anisotropic interactions, …
A series of SmFeAsO1-xFx samples were sintered in quartz tubes filled with air of different pressures. The effects of the sintering atmosphere on the superconductivity were systematically investigated. The SmFeAsO1-xFx system maintains a transition temperature (Tc) near 50 K until the concentration of oxygen in quartz tubes increases to a certain threshold, after which Tc decreases dramatically. Fluorine losses, whether due to vaporization, reactions with starting materials, and reactions with oxygen, proved to be detrimental to the superconductivity of this material. The deleterious effects o…
On the basis of the model that was successfully applied to KC8, RbC8, and CsC8 in 1982, we have calculated the superconducting transition temperature Tc for CaC6 and YbC6 to find that the same model reproduces the observed Tc in those compounds as well, indicating that it is a standard model for superconductivity in the graphite intercalation compounds with Tc ranging over three orders of magnitude. Further enhancement of Tc well beyond 10 K is also predicted. The present method for calculating Tc from first principles is compared with that in the density functional theory for superconductors,…
In this letter we report the discovery of superconductivity in the isostructural graphite intercalation compounds C6Yb and C6Ca, with transition temperatures of 6.5K and 11.5K respectively. A structural characterisation of these compounds shows them to be hexagonal layered systems in the same class as other graphite intercalates. If we assume that all the outer s-electrons are transferred from the intercalant to the graphite sheets, then the charge transfer in these compounds is comparable to other superconducting graphite intercalants such as C8K 1,2 . However, the superconducting transition …
We report a detailed study of specific heat, electrical resistivity and thermal expansion in combination with inelastic neutron and inelastic X-ray scattering to investigate the origin of superconductivity in the two silicon clathrate superconductors Ba8Si46 and Ba24Si100. Both compounds have a similar structure based on encaged barium atoms in oversized silicon cages. However, the transition temperatures are rather different: 8 K and 1.5 K respectively. By extracting the superconducting properties, phonon density of states, electron-phonon coupling function and phonon anharmonicity from these…
We report the appearance of superconductivity under hydrostatic pressure (0.35 to 2.5GPa) in Sr0.5RE0.5FBiS2 with RE = Ce, Nd, Pr and Sm. The studied compounds, synthesized by solid state reaction route, are crystallized in tetragonal P4/nmm space group. At ambient pressure though the RE = Ce exhibit the onset of superconductivity below 2.5K, the Nd, Pr and Sm samples are not superconducting down to 2K. With application of hydrostatic pressure (up to 2.5GPa), superconducting transition temperature is increased to around 10K for all the studied samples. The magneto-transport measurements are ca…
Electrical resistivity under high pressure have been measured on nominally pure SrFe2As2 up to 14 GPa. The resistivity drop appeared with increasing pressure, and we clearly observed zero resistivity. The maximum of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) is 38 K. The value is corresponding to the one of optimally doping AFe2As2 (A=Sr, Ba) system with K+ ions at the A2+ site.
We report superconductivity at 1.4K in the ternary SrPt$_{10}$P$_4$ with a complex new structure. SrPt$_{10}$P$_4$ crystallizes in a monoclinic space-group C2/c (\#15) with lattice parameters a= 22.9151(9)$Å$, b= 13.1664(5)$Å$, c=13.4131(5)$Å$, and $β$= 90.0270(5)${^\circ}$. Bulk superconductivity in the samples has been demonstrated through resistivity, ac susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. High pressure measurements have shown that the superconducting T$_C$ is systematically suppressed upon application of pressure, with a dT$_C$/dP coefficient of -0.016 K/GPa.
By interpreting various experimental data for the new high temperature FeAs type superconductors in terms of lattice mediated multi gap superconductivity, it is shown that these systems strongly resemble MgB2, however, with the distinction that local polaronic lattice effects exist. This fact establishes a connection to cuprate high temperature superconductors where polaron formation is essential for the pseudogap phase and the unconventional isotope effects observed there. However, similar to MgB2 and in contrast to cuprates the two superconducting gaps in the Fe-As based materials are isotro…
We study the newly discovered Pt phosphides $A$Pt$_3$P ($A$=Sr, Ca, La) [ T. Takayama et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 237001 (2012)] using first-principles calculations and Migdal-Eliashberg theory. Given the remarkable agreement with the experiment, we exclude the charge-density wave scenario proposed by previous first-principles calculations, and give conclusive answers concerning the superconducting state in these materials. The pairing increases from La to Ca and Sr due to changes in the electron-phonon matrix elements and low-frequency phonons. Although we find that all three compounds are w…
New iron-arsenide superconductors of REFeAsO1-delta (RE = Ho, Y, Dy and Tb) were successfully synthesized by a high pressure synthesizing method with a special rapid quenching process, with the onset superconducting critical temperatures at 50.3 K, 46.5 K, 52.2K and 48.5 K for RE = Ho, Y, Dy and Tb respectively.
We report the discovery of superconductivity in pressurized CeRhGe3, until now the only remaining non-superconducting member of the isostructural family of non-centrosymmetric heavy-fermion compounds CeTX3 (T = Co, Rh, Ir and X = Si, Ge). Superconductivity appears in CeRhGe3 at a pressure of 19.6 GPa and the transition temperature Tc reaches a maximum value of 1.3 K at 21.5 GPa. This finding provides an opportunity to establish systematic correlations between superconductivity and materials properties within this family. Though ambient-pressure unit-cell volumes and critical pressures for supe…
Nb2SnC is a member of the large family of lamellar materials that crystallize in the hexagonal structure with space group P63/mmc which are isomorphs with Cr2AlC, also named H-phase. In spite of the great number of compounds which belong to this family, the superconductivity has been reported only for two cases: Mo2GaC and Nb2SC. In this work we show that superconductivity can be observed in Nb2SnC depending on the synthesis method used. The quality of the superconductor is strongly dependent of the synthesis method and the optimal results were reached for samples synthesized at 2.5 GPa and 52…
The niobium rich selenide compound Nb5Se4 was synthesized at ambient pressure by high-temperature solid-state reaction in a sealed Ta tube. Resistivity and heat capacity measurements reveal that this compound is superconducting, with a T_c = 1.85K. The electronic contribution to the specific heat γ and the Debye temperature are found to be 18.1 mJ/mol/K^2 and 298 K respectively. The calculated electron-phonon coupling constant λ_ep = 0.5 and the ΔC_p/γTc = 1.42 ratio imply that Nb5Se4 is a weak coupling BCS superconductor. The upper critical field and coherence length are found to be 1.44 T an…
Owing to the specific topological states in nodal-line semimetals, novel topological superconductivity is expected to emerge in these systems. In this letter, by combination of the first-principles calculations and resistivity, susceptibility and specific heat measurements, we demonstrate that La$_3$Pt$_3$Bi$_4$ is a topologically nontrivial nodal-ring semimetal protected by the gliding-mirror symmetry even in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Meanwhile, we discover bulk superconductivity with a transition temperature of $\sim$1.1 K, and an upper critical field of $\sim$0.41 T. These findin…
Polycrystalline samples of four intermetallic compounds: MV$_2$Al$_{20}$ (M = Sc, Y, La, and Lu) were synthesized using an arc-melting technique. The crystal structures were analyzed by means of powder x-ray diffraction and Rietveld analysis, and the physical properties were studied by means of heat capacity, electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements down to 0.4 K. For ScV$_2$Al$_{20}$, LuV$_2$Al$_{20}$, and YV$_2$Al$_{20}$, superconductivity was observed with critical temperatures T$_c$ = 1.00 K, 0.57 K, and 0.60 K, respectively. Superconductivity for the Lu compound is …
A mean-field treatment is presented of a square lattice two-orbital-model for ${\rm BiS_2}$ taking into account intra- and inter-orbital superconductivity. A rich phase diagram involving both types of superconductivity is presented as a function of the ratio between the couplings of electrons in the same and different orbitals (${\rm η= V_{XX}/V_{XY}}$) and electron doping $x$. With the help of a quantity we call orbital-mixing ratio, denoted as $R(ϕ)$, the phase diagram is analyzed using a simple and intuitive picture based on how $R(ϕ)$ varies as electron doping increases. The predictive pow…
The quantum critical Antiferromagnetic (AFM) fluctuation spectra measured by inelastic neutron scattering recently in two heavy fermion superconductors are used together with their other measured properties to calculate their D-wave superconducting transition temperatures $T_{\rm c}$. To this end, the linearized Eliashberg equations for D-wave superconductivity induced by AFM fluctuations are solved in models of fermions with various levels of nesting. The results for the ratio of $T_{\rm c}$ to the characteristic spin-fluctuation energy are well parametrized by a dimensionless coupling consta…
The recent discovery of superconductivity in heavy Fermion compound UTe2, a candidate topological and triplet-paired superconductor, has aroused widespread interest. However, to date, there is no consensus on whether the stoichiometric sample of UTe2 is superconducting or not due to lack of reliable evidence to distinguish the difference between the nominal and real compositions of samples. Here, we are the first to clarify that the stoichiometric UT2 is non-superconducting at ambient pressure and under hydrostatic pressure up to 6 GPa, however we find that it can be compressed into supercondu…
The half-Heusler compounds YPdBi and TbPdBi, while having similar band structure, exhibit different magnetic properties. YPdBi is a diamagnet, while TbPdBi shows antiferromagnetic order below 5.5 K. Both are superconductors with T${_c}\approx$1 K for YPdBi and T${_c}\approx$1.75 K for TbPdBi. Such a contrast in properties between these two compounds opens a question about the effects of band structure or magnetic correlations on superconductivity. Using the combination of a tunnel diode oscillator (TDO) and a commercial dilution refrigerator, we measured temperature dependent magnetic penetrat…
Recently, Bi-based compounds have attracted attentions because of the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this work, we figured out the role of SOC in ABi$_{3}$ (A=Sr and Ba) by theoretical investigation of the band structures, phonon properties, and electron-phonon coupling. Without SOC, strong Fermi surface nesting leads to phonon instabilities in ABi$_{3}$. SOC suppresses the nesting and stabilizes the structure. Moreover, without SOC the calculation largely underestimates the superconducting transition temperatures ($T_{c}$), while with SOC the calculated $T_{c}$ are very close to those d…
The symmetry properties and the general overview of the superconductivity theory in the itinerant ferromagnets and in materials without space parity are presented. The basic notions of unconventional superconductivity are introduced in broad context of multiband superconductivity which is inherent property of ferromagnetic metals or metals without centre of inversion.
On the basis of microscopic theory it is demonstrated how the coupling between the electrons by means of magnetization fluctuations in ferromagnetic metal with orthorhombic symmetry gives rise equal spin pairing superconducting state with general form of the order parameter dictated by symmetry. The strong upturn of the upper critical field along $b$-direction above 5 Tesla in UCoGe is explained by the increase of pairing interaction caused by the suppression of the Curie temperature by magnetic field parallel to b-axis. It is proposed that similar phenomenon at much higher field must take pla…
We study the superconducting properties of the non-centrosymmetric compound LaNiC$_2$ by measuring the London penetration depth $Δλ(T)$, the specific heat $C(T,B)$ and the electrical resistivity $ρ(T,B)$. Both $Δλ(T)$ and the electronic specific heat $C_e(T)$ exhibit exponential behavior at low temperatures and can be described in terms of a phenomenological two-gap BCS model. The residual Sommerfeld coefficient in the superconducting state, $γ_0(B)$, shows a fast increase at low fields and then an eventual saturation with increasing magnetic field. A pronounced upturn curvature is observed in…
EXAFS studies at the As K edge as a function of temperature have been carried out in SmFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ ($x$ = 0 and 0.2) compounds to understand the role of local structural distortions superconductivity observed in F doped compound. A significant correlation between thermal variation of local structural parameters like anion height and superconducting onset is found in the fluorinated compound. Such a variation in anion height is absent in non-superconducting compound. Increase in Fe-As bond distance just below superconducting onset temperature indicates a similarity in distortions observe…
Single crystals of the compounds LaFePO, PrFePO, and NdFePO have been prepared by means of a flux growth technique and studied by electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements. We have found that PrFePO and NdFePO display superconductivity with values of the superconducting critical temperature T_c of 3.2 K and 3.1 K, respectively. The effect of annealing on the properties of LaFePO, PrFePO, and NdFePO is also reported. The LnFePO (Ln = lanthanide) compounds are isostructural with the LnFeAsO_{1-x}F_x compounds that become superconducting with T_c values as hig…
Spin fluctuation-induced superconductivity in two-dimensional organic compounds such as κ-(ET)_2-X is investigated by using a simplified dimer Hubbard model with right-angled isosceles triangular lattice (transfer matrices -τ, -τ^\prime). The dynamical susceptiblity and the self-energy are calculated self-consistently within the fluctuation exchange approximation and the value for T_c as obtained by solving the linearized Eliashberg-type equations is in good agreement with experiment. The pairing symmetry is of d_{x^2-y^2} type. The calculated (U/τ)-dependence of T_c compares qualitatively wel…
