9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to JPCM: special issue on Superconducting Materials. The main result of this paper was presented in the 12th National Conference on Low Temperature Physics held in Qingdao in July 2009, and the 1st Hangzhou Workshop on Quantum Matter held in October 2009
Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are two antagonistic cooperative phenomena, which makes it difficult for them to coexist. Here we demonstrate experimentally that they do coexist in EuFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$ with $0.2\leq x\leq0.4$, in which superconductivity is associated with Fe-3$d$ electrons and ferromagnetism comes from the long-range ordering of Eu-4$f$ moments via Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions. The coexistence is featured by large saturated ferromagnetic moments, high and comparable superconducting and magnetic transition temperatures, and broad coexistence ranges in temperature and field. We ascribe this unusual phenomenon to the robustness of superconductivity as well as the multi-orbital characters of iron pnictides.
In contrast to SrFe2As2, where only the iron possesses a magnetic moment, in EuFe2As2 an additional large, local magnetic moment is carried by Eu2+. Like SrFe2As2, EuFe2As2 exhibits a spin-density wave transition at high temperatures, but in addition the magnetic moments of the Eu2+ order at around 20 K. The interplay of pressure-induced superconductivity and the Eu2+ order leads to a behavior which is reminiscent of re-entrant superconductivity as it was observed, for example, in the ternary Chevrel phases or in the rare-earth nickel borocarbides. Here, we study the delicate interplay of the …
We report a systematic study on the influence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of Eu^2+ moments on the superconducting phase upon doping the As site by isovalent P, which acts as chemical pressure on EuFe_2As_2. Bulk superconductivity with transition temperatures of 22 K and 28 K are observed for x=0.16 and 0.20 samples respectively. The Eu ions order antiferromagnetically for x<=0.13, while a crossover is observed for x>=0.22 whereupon the Eu ions order ferromagnetically. Density functional theory based calculations reproduce the observed experimental findings consistently. We di…
The magnetic structure of the Eu2+ moments in the superconducting EuFe2(As1-xPx)2 sample with x = 0.15 has been determined using element specific x-ray resonant magnetic scattering. Combining magnetic, thermodynamic and scattering measurements, we conclude that the long range ferromagnetic order of the Eu2+ moments aligned primarily along the c axis coexists with the bulk superconductivity at zero field. At an applied magnetic field >= 0.6 T, superconductivity still coexists with the ferromagnetic Eu2+ moments which are polarized along the field direction. We propose a spontaneous vortex state…
Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements are performed on the ferromagnetic superconductor EuFe$_{2}$(As$_{0.8}$P$_{0.2}$)$_{2}$ ($T\rm_{sc}=22.5\,$K) to probe the delicate interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. A clear signature of large ferromagnetic domains is found below the ferromagnetic ordering temperature $T\rm_{C}$ = 18.5 K. In a small temperature interval of $\sim$ 1.5 K below $T\rm_{C}$, additional SANS signal is observed, of which the indirect Fourier transform reveals characteristic length scales in between $\sim$ 80 nm to $\sim$ 160 nm. These nanometer-…
The compound EuFe(2-x)Co(x)As2 was investigated by means of the 57Fe and 151Eu Moessbauer spectroscopy versus temperature (4.2 - 300 K) for x=0 (parent), x=0.34 - 0.39 (superconductor) and x=0.58 (overdoped). It was found that spin density wave (SDW) is suppressed by Co-substitution, however it survives in the region of superconductivity, but iron spectra exhibit some non-magnetic component in the superconducting region. Europium orders anti-ferromagnetically regardless of the Co concentration with the spin re-orientation from the a-axis in the parent compound toward c-axis with the increasing…
The interplay between superconductivity and Eu$ ^{2+}$ magnetic moments in EuFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ is studied by electrical resistivity measurements under hydrostatic pressure on $x=0.13$ and $x=0.18$ single crystals. We can map hydrostatic pressure to chemical pressure $x$ and show, that superconductivity is confined to a very narrow range $0.18\leq x \leq 0.23$ in the phase diagram, beyond which ferromagnetic (FM) Eu ordering suppresses superconductivity. The change from antiferro- to FM Eu ordering at the latter concentration coincides with a Lifshitz transition and the complete depre…
By performing high-pressure single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements, the evolution of structure and magnetic ordering in EuFe2As2 under hydrostatic pressure were investigated. Both the tetragonal-toorthorhombic structural transition and the Fe spin-density-wave (SDW) transition are gradually suppressed and become decoupled with increasing pressure. The antiferromagnetic order of the Eu sublattice is, however, robust against the applied pressure up to 24.7 kbar, without showing any change of the ordering temperature. Under the pressure of 24.7 kbar, the lattice parameters of EuFe2As2 di…
We discover a robust coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in an iron arsenide RbEuFe$_4$As$_4$. The new material crystallizes in an intergrowth structure of RbFe$_2$As$_2$ and EuFe$_2$As$_2$, such that the Eu sublattice turns out to be primitive instead of being body-centered in EuFe$_2$As$_2$. The FeAs layers, featured by asymmetric As coordinations, are hole doped due to charge homogenization. Our combined measurements of electrical transport, magnetization and heat capacity unambiguously and consistently indicate bulk superconductivity at 36.5 K in the FeAs layers and ferroma…
We have constructed a pressure$-$temperature ($P-T$) phase diagram of $P$-induced superconductivity in EuFe$_2$As$_2$ single crystals, via resistivity ($ρ$) measurements up to 3.2 GPa. As hydrostatic pressure is applied, an antiferromagnetic (AF) transition attributed to the FeAs layers at $T_\mathrm{0}$ shifts to lower temperatures, and the corresponding resistive anomaly becomes undetectable for $P$ $\ge$ 2.5 GPa. This suggests that the critical pressure $P_\mathrm{c}$ where $T_\mathrm{0}$ becomes zero is about 2.5 GPa. We have found that the AF order of the Eu$^{2+}$ moments survives up to …
The crystal structure and electrical resistance of the structurally-layered EuFe2As2 have been studied up to 70 GPa and down to temperature of 10 K, using a synchrotron x-ray source and the designer diamond anvils. The room-temperature compression of the tetragonal phase of EuFe2As2 (I4/mmm) results in an increase in the a-axis and a rapid decrease in c-axis with increasing pressure. This anomalous compression reaches a maximum at 8 GPa and the tetragonal lattice behaves normal above 10 GPa with a nearly constant c/a axial ratio. The rapid rise in superconducting transition temperature (Tc) to…
We report evidence for a reentrant spin glass phase in electron-doped $\text{EuFe}_2\text{As}_2$ single crystals and first traces of the superconductivity re-entrance in optics. In the close-to-optimal doped $\text{Eu}(\text{Fe}_{0.91}\text{Ir}_{0.09})_2\text{As}_2$ and $\text{Eu}(\text{Fe}_{0.93}\text{Rh}_{0.07})_2\text{As}_2$ samples two magnetic transitions are observed below the superconducting critical temperature $T_c \approx 21$~K: the canted $A$-type antiferromagnetic order of the $\text{Eu}^{2+}$ ions sets in around $17\,\text{K}$; the spin glass behavior occurs another $2\,\text{K}$ …
We present our results of a local probe study on EuFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$ single crystals with $x$=0.13, 0.19 and 0.28 by means of muon spin rotation and ${}^{57}$Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. We focus our discussion on the sample with $x$=0.19 viz. at the optimal substitution level, where bulk superconductivity ($T_{\text{SC}}=28$ K) sets in above static europium order ($T^{\text{Eu}}=20$K) but well below the onset of the iron antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition ($\sim$100 K). We find enhanced spin dynamics in the Fe sublattice closely above $T_{\text{SC}}$ and propose that these are r…
Suppression of spin-density-wave transition and emergence of ferromagnetic ordering of Eu$^{2+}$ moments in EuFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_{2}$
本文通过电阻率、磁化率和热电势测量系统地研究了EuFe $_{2-x}$ Ni $_{x}$ As $_{2}$（0 $\leq$ \emph{x} $\leq$ 0.2）的物理性质。未掺杂的化合物EuFe $_{2}$ As $_{2}$在195 K经历了与Fe磁矩相关的自旋密度波（SDW）跃迁，随后在20 K经历了Eu $^{2+}$磁矩的反铁磁（AFM）有序化。Fe位的Ni掺杂同时抑制了Eu $^{2+}$矩的SDW跃迁和AFM有序化。对于$x\geq$ 0.06，Eu $^{2+}$磁矩的磁序从反铁磁性演变为铁磁性（FM）。当$x\geq$为0.16时，SDW转变被完全抑制，但在2K以下没有观察到超导转变。讨论了EuFe $_{2-x}$ Ni $_{x}$ As $_{2}$体系中AFM到FM转变和无超导电性的可能原因。
The interplay between superconductivity and Eu$^{2+}$ magnetic ordering in Eu(Fe$_{1-x}$Ir$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is studied by means of electrical transport and magnetic measurements. For the critically doped sample Eu(Fe$_{0.86}$Ir$_{0.14}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$, we witnessed two distinct transitions : a superconducting transition below 22.6 K which is followed by a resistivity reentrance caused by the ordering of the Eu$^{2+}$ moments. Further, the low field magnetization measurements show a prominent diamagnetic signal due to superconductivity which is remarkable in presence of a large moment magne…
Electronic nematics, an electron orientational order which breaks the underlying rotational symmetry, have been observed in iron pnictide superconductors several years after their discovery. However, the universality of the doping dependence of this phase and its relation to other symmetry-breaking orders (such as superconductivity) in distinct families of iron pnictides, remain outstanding questions. Here we use torque magnetometry as a probe to study the rotational symmetry breaking in EuFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ without introducing external pressure. The nematic phase is found to prolifer…
We present the results of electrical resistivity, ac specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) of the ternary iron arsenide EuFe2As2 single crystal under pressure. Applying pressure leads to a continuous suppression of the antiferromagnetism associated with Fe moments and the antiferromagnetic transition temperature becomes zero in the vicinity of a critical pressure Pc ~2.5-2.7 GPa. Pressure-induced re-entrant superconductivity, which is highly sensitive to the homogeneity of the pressure, only appears in the narro…
Among iron 122 pnictide superconductors, the EuFe$_2$As$_2$ series draws particular interest because, in addition to superconductivity or the long-range spin-density-wave order in the Fe subsystem, the localized Eu$^{2+}$ magnetic moments order at low temperatures. Here we present a novel scheme of how the spins align in the Eu compounds when pressure varies the coupling; we explain magnetization measurements on EuFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ single crystals as well as other observations of the Eu$^{2+}$ ordering previously reported in literature. The magnetic moments of the Eu$^{2+}$ ions are …
We report the ac magnetic susceptibility $χ_{ac}$ and resistivity $ρ$ measurements of EuFe$_2$As$_2$ under high pressure $P$. By observing nearly 100% superconducting shielding and zero resistivity at $P$ = 28 kbar, we establish that $P$-induced superconductivity occurs at $T_c \sim$~30 K in EuFe$_2$As$_2$. $ρ$ shows an anomalous nearly linear temperature dependence from room temperature down to $T_c$ at the same $P$. $χ_{ac}$ indicates that an antiferromagnetic order of Eu$^{2+}$ moments with $T_N \sim$~20 K persists in the superconducting phase. The temperature dependence of the upper critic…
We have carried out high-field resistivity measurements up to 27\,T in EuFe$_2$As$_2$ at $P$\,=\,2.5\,GPa, a virtually optimal pressure for the $P$-induced superconductivity, where $T_\mathrm{c}$\,=\,30\,K. The $B_\mathrm{c2}-T_\mathrm{c}$ phase diagram has been constructed in a wide temperature range with a minimum temperature of 1.6 K ($\approx 0.05 \times T_\mathrm{c}$), for both $B \parallel ab$ ($B_\mathrm{c2}^\mathrm{ab}$) and $B \parallel c$ ($B_\mathrm{c2}^\mathrm{c}$). The upper critical fields $B_\mathrm{c2}^\mathrm{ab}$(0) and $B_\mathrm{c2}^\mathrm{c}$(0), determined by the onset o…
Recent advances on ferromagnetic superconductors, UGe2, URhGe and UCoGe are presented. The superconductivity (SC) peacefully coexists with the ferromagnetism (FM), forming the spin-triplet state of Cooper pairs. The striking new phenomena, such as SC reinforced by the magnetic field, are associated with Ising-type ferromagnetic fluctuations. A variety of ferromagnetic ordered moments between UGe2, URhGe and UCoGe affords to understand the relation between FM, tricriticality and SC.
We study the electronic instabilities of doped bilayer silicene using the random phase approximation. In contrast to the singlet $d+id'$ superconductivity at the low doping region, we find that the system is an itinerant ferromagnet in the narrow doping regions around the Van Hove singularities, and a triplet $p+ip'$ superconductor in the vicinity of these regions. Adding a weak Kane-Mele spin-orbit coupling to the system further singles out the time-reversal invariant equal-spin helical $p+ip'$ pairing as the leading instability. The triplet pairing identified here is driven by the ferromagne…
Materials with exceptional magnetism and superconductivity usually conceive emergent physical phenomena. Here, we investigate the physical properties of the (Eu,La)FeAs2 system with double magnetic sublattices. The parent EuFeAs2 shows anisotropy-associated magnetic behaviors, such as Eu-related moment canting and exchange bias. Through La doping, the magnetic anisotropy is enhanced with ferromagnetism of Eu2+ realized in the overdoped region, and a special exchange bias of the superposed ferromagnetic/superconducting loop revealed in Eu0.8La0.2FeAs2. Meanwhile, the Fe-related antiferromagneti…
The layered perovskite Ca2RuO4 is a spin-one Mott insulator at ambient pressure and exhibits metallic ferromagnetism at least up to ~ 80 kbar with a maximum Curie temperature of 28 K. Above ~ 90 kbar and up to 140 kbar, the highest pressure reached, the resistivity and ac susceptibility show pronounced downturns below ~ 0.4 K in applied magnetic fields of up to ~10 mT. This indicates that our specimens of Ca2RuO4 are weakly superconducting on the border of a quasi-2D ferromagnetic state.
Here, we present a combination of magnetization and magnetic torque experiments to investigate the magnetic orders in undoped EuFe2As2 and Co doped EuFe1.8Co0.2As2 single crystals. Although at low temperatures typical results for an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state in EuFe2As2 were found, our data strongly indicate the occurrence of a canted antiferromagnetic (C-AFM) order of the Eu2+ moments between 17 K and 19 K, observed even in the lowest studied magnetic fields. However, unlike in the parent compound, no low-field and low-temperature AFM state of the Eu^2+ moments was observed in the doped E…
Unambiguous evidence for the microscopic coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in UCoGe ($T_{\rm Curie} \sim 2.5$ K and $T_{\rm SC}$ $\sim$ 0.6 K) is reported from $^{59}$Co nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). The $^{59}$Co-NQR signal below 1 K indicates ferromagnetism throughout the sample volume, while nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ in the ferromagnetic (FM) phase decreases below $T_{\rm SC}$ due to the opening of the superconducting(SC) gap. The SC state was found to be inhomogeneous, suggestive of a self-induced vortex state, potentially realizable in a FM super…
In superconducting ferromagnets for which the Curie temperature $T_{m}$ exceeds the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$, it was suggested that ferromagnetic spin fluctuations could lead to superconductivity with p-wave spin triplet Cooper pairing. Using the Stoner model of itinerant ferromagnetism, we study the feedback effect of the p-wave superconductivity on the ferromagnetism. Below $T_{c}$, the ferromagnetism is enhanced by the p-wave superconductivity. At zero temperature, the critical Stoner value for itinerant ferromagnetism is reduced by the strength of the p-wave pairing p…
Ferromagnetism is usually considered to be incompatible with conventional superconductivity, as it destroys the singlet correlations responsible for the pairing interaction. Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are known to coexist in only a few bulk rare-earth materials. Here we report evidence for their coexistence in a two-dimensional system: the interface between two bulk insulators, LaAlO$_3$ (LAO) and SrTiO$_3$ (STO), a system that has been studied intensively recently. Magnetoresistance, Hall and electric-field dependence measurements suggest that there are two distinct bands of charge …
We report on superconductivity in CeFeAs1-xPxO and the possible coexistence with Ce- ferromagnetism (FM) in a small homogeneity range around x = 30% with ordering temperatures of T_SC = T_C = 4K. The antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering temperature of Fe at this critical concentration is suppressed to T^N_Fe ~ 40K and does not shift to lower temperatures with further increase of the P concentration. Therefore, a quantum-critical-point scenario with T^N_Fe -> 0K which is widely discussed for the iron based superconductors can be excluded for this alloy series. Surprisingly, thermal expansion and X-…
We introduce a model to explain the observed ferromagnetism and superconductivity in LAO/STO oxide interface structures. Due to the polar catastrophe mechanism, 1/2 charge per unit cell is transferred to the interface layer. We argue that this charge localizes and orders ferromagnetically via exchange with the conduction electrons. Ordinarily this ferromagnetism would destroy superconductivity, but due to strong spin-orbit coupling near the interface, the magnetism and superconductivity can coexist by forming an FFLO-type condensate of Cooper pairs at finite momentum, which is surprisingly rob…
Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in the hybrid ruthenate-cuprate compound RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8 studied by muon spin rotation (μSR) and DC-magnetization
Bilayer Moiré structures are a highly tunable laboratory to investigate the physics of strongly correlated electron systems. Moiré transition metal dichalcogenides at low-energies, in particular, are believed to be described by a single narrow band Hubbard model on a triangular lattice with spin-orbit coupling. Motivated by recent experimental evidence for superconductivity in twisted bilayer materials, we investigate the possible superconducting pairings in a two-dimensional single band Rashba-Hubbard model. Using a random-phase approximation in the presence of nearest and next-nearest neighb…
The highly conductive two-dimensional electron gas formed at the interface between insulating SrTiO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$ shows low-temperature superconductivity coexisting with inhomogeneous ferromagnetism. The Rashba spin-orbit interaction with in-plane Zeeman field of the system favors $p_x \pm i p_y$-wave superconductivity at finite momentum. Owing to the intrinsic disorder at the interface, the role of spatial inhomogeneity on the superconducting and ferromagnetic states becomes important. We find that for strong disorder, the system breaks up into mutually excluded regions of superconductivi…
