Multiple Superconducting Phases and Unusual Enhancement of the Upper Critical Field in UTe2
Dai Aoki, Fuminori Honda, Georg Knebel, Daniel Braithwaite, Ai Nakamura, DeXin Li, Yoshiya Homma, Yusei Shimizu, Yoshiki J. Sato, Jean-Pascal Brison, Jacques Flouquet
备注：
6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn
We performed AC calorimetry and magnetoresistance measurements under pressure for H || a-axis (easy-magnetization axis) in the novel heavy-fermion superconductor UTe2. Thanks to the thermodynamic information, multiple superconducting phases have been revealed under pressure and magnetic field. The (H,T) phase diagram of superconductivity under pressure displays an abrupt increase of the upper critical field (Hc2) at low temperature and in the high field region, and a strong convex curvature of Hc2 at high temperature. This behavior of Hc2 and the multiple superconducting phases require a state for the superconducting order parameter more complex than a spin-triplet equal spin pairing. Above the superconducting critical pressure, Pc, we find strong indications that the possible magnetic order is closer to antiferromagnetism than to ferromagnetism.
There is increasing experimental evidence that the superconducting energy gap $Δ_0$ in the underdoped cuprates is independent of doping concentration $x$ while the superfluid density is linear in $x$. We show that under these conditions, thermal excitation of the quasiparticles is very effective in destroying the superconducting state, so that $T_c$ is proportional to $xΔ_0$ and part of the gap structure remains in the normal state. We then estimate $H_{c2}$ and predict it to be proportional to $x^2$. We also discuss to what extent the assumptions that go into the quasiparticle description can…
The thermal conductivity κin the basal plane of single-crystalline hexagonal NbSe2 has been measured as a function of magnetic field H, oriented both along and perpendicular to the c-axis, at several temperatures below T_c. With the magnetic field in the basal plane and oriented parallel to the heat flux we observed, in fields well below H_c2, an unexpected hysteretic behavior of κ(H) with all the generic features of a first order phase transition. The transition is not manifest in the κ(H) curves, if H is still in the basal plane but oriented perpendicularly to the heat-flux direction. The or…
High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements were taken on FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_x$ (x=0, 0.04, and 0.08) superconductors. With an ultrahigh energy resolution of 0.4 meV, unusual two hole bands near the Brillouin-zone center, which was possibly a result of additional symmetry breaking, were identified in all the sulfur-substituted samples. In addition, in both of the hole bands highly anisotropic superconducting gaps with resolution limited nodes were evidenced. We find that the larger superconducting gap on the outer hole band is reduced linearly to the nematic transition temperature wh…
We present new x-ray and neutron scattering measurements of stripe order in La(1.875)Ba(0.125)CuO(4), along with low-field susceptibility, thermal conductivity, and specific heat data. We compare these with previously reported results for resistivity and thermopower. Temperature-dependent features indicating transitions (or crossovers) are correlated among the various experimental quantities. Taking into account recent spectroscopic studies, we argue that the most likely interpretation of the complete collection of results is that an unusual form of two-dimensional superconducting correlations…
The two-band model as introduced by Suhl, Matthias and Walker [Phys. Rev. Lett. 3, 551 (1959)] accounts for multiple energy bands in the vicinity of the Fermi energy which could contribute to electron pairing in superconducting systems. Here, extensions of this model are investigated wherein the effects of coupled superconducting order parameters with different symmetries and the presence of strong electron-lattice coupling on the superconducting transition temperature Tc are studied. Substantial enhancements of Tc are obtained from both effects.
We discuss the novel superconducting characteristics and unusual normal-state properties of iron (Fe)-based pnictide superconductors REFeAsO$_{1-y}$ (RE=La,Pr,Nd) and Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$($T_{c}=$ 38 K) by means of $^{57}$Fe-NMR and $^{75}$As-NQR/NMR. In the superconducting state of LaFeAsO$_{0.7}$ ($T_{c}=$ 28 K), the spin component of the $^{57}$Fe-Knight shift decreases to almost zero at low temperatures, which provide firm evidence of the superconducting state formed by spin-singlet Cooper pairing. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rates $(1/T_{1})$ in LaFeAsO$_{0.7}$ and Ba$_…
The in-plane complex optical properties of the iron-chalcogenide superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45 have been determined above and below the critical temperature Tc = 14 K. At room temperature the conductivity is described by a weakly-interacting Fermi liquid; however, below 100 K the scattering rate develops a frequency dependence in the terahertz region, signaling the increasingly correlated nature of this material. We estimate the dc conductivity just above Tc to be sigma_dc ~ 3500 Ohm-1cm-1 and the superfluid density rho_s0 ~ 9 x 10^6 cm-2, which places this material close to the scaling line r…
The thermal conductivity κis measured in a series of La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (x = 0 - 0.22) single crystals down to 90 mK to elucidate the evolution of the residual electronic thermal conductivity κ_{res}, which probes the extended quasiparticle states in the d-wave gap. We found that κ_{res}/T grows smoothly, except for a 1/8 anomaly, above x = 0.05 and shows no discontinuity at optimum doping, indicating that the behavior of κ_{res}/T is not governed by the metal-insulator crossover in the normal state; as a result, κ_{res}/T is much larger than what the normal-state resistivity would suggest …
We report an unusual persistence of superconductivity against high magnetic fields in the iron chalcogenide film FeTe:O$_{x}$ below ~ 2.5 K. Instead of saturating like a mean-field behavior with a single order parameter, the measured low-temperature upper critical field increases progressively, suggesting a large supply of superconducting states accessible via magnetic field or low-energy thermal fluctuations. We demonstrate that superconducting states of finite momenta can be realized within the conventional theory, despite its questionable applicability. Our findings reveal a fundamental cha…
We study the superfluid behavior of a population imbalanced ultracold atomic Fermi gases with a short range attractive interaction in a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice, using a pairing fluctuation theory. We show that, besides widespread pseudogap phenomena and intermediate temperature superfluidity, the superfluid phase is readily destroyed except in a limited region of the parameter space. We find a new mechanism for pair hopping, assisted by the excessive majority fermions, in the presence of continuum-lattice mixing, which leads to an unusual constant BEC asymptote for $T_c$ that is i…
Within the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism, the effect of the additional second neighbor hopping t' on the superconducting state of the t-J model is discussed. It is shown that t' plays an important role in enhancing the superconducting transition temperature of the t-J model. It is also shown that the superconducting-state of cuprate superconductors is the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer like, so that the basic Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer formalism is still valid in quantitatively reproducing the doping dependence of the superconducting gap parameter and superconducting t…
Cichorek et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 107002 (2005)] reported enhancements of the lower critical field Hc1(T) and critical current in superconducting PrOs4Sb12 below a transition temperature Tc3 ~ 0.6 K, and speculated that this reflects a transition between superconducting phases. Features have been observed near Tc3 in other properties, but not in the specific heat. We report muon spin rotation measurements of the penetration depth in the vortex state of PrOs4Sb12 near Hc1(T), that to high accuracy exhibit no anomaly Tc3 and therefore cast doubt on the putative phase transition.
Super-high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been carried out on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi2212) superconductors to investigate momentum dependence of electron coupling with collective excitations (modes). Two coexisting energy scales are clearly revealed over a large momentum space for the first time in the superconducting state of an overdoped Bi2212 superconductor. These two energy scales exhibit distinct momentum dependence: one keeps its energy near 78 meV over a large momentum space while the other changes its energy from $\sim$40 meV near the antinodal regio…
It is shown that the critical temperature for spin-triplet, p-wave superconductivity mediated by spin fluctuations is generically much higher in a Heisenberg ferromagnetic phase than in a paramagnetic one, due to the coupling of the magnons to the longitudinal magnetic susceptibility. Together with the tendency of the low-temperature ferromagnetic transition in very clean Heisenberg magnets to be of first order, this qualitatively explains the phase diagram recently observed in UGe_2.
We report high pressure magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity measurements on Ca_{3}Ir_{4}Sn_{13} single crystals up to 60 kbar. These measurements allow us to follow the evolution of the superconducting critical temperature T_c, the resistivity anomaly temperature T*, the superconducting coherence length and the Fermi velocity under pressure. The pressure-temperature phase diagram constructed for Ca_{3}Ir_{4}Sn_{13} shows a dome-shaped pressure dependence of T_c. The initial rise in T_c, which is accompanied by a decrease in T*, is consistent with a reduction in the partial gappi…
Strong enhancements to superconducting properties of 1D systems from metallic reservoirs
Heriot-Watt University（赫瑞-瓦特大学）；University of Geneva（日内瓦大学）；Weizmann Institute of Science（魏茨曼科学研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme（马克斯·普朗克复杂系统物理研究所）
The superconducting transition temperature, Tc, of bilayers comprising underdoped La2-xSrxCuO4 films capped by a thin heavily overdoped metallic La1.65Sr0.35CuO4 layer, is found to increase with respect to Tc of the bare underdoped films. The highest Tc is achieved for x = 0.12, close to the 'anomalous' 1/8 doping level, and exceeds that of the optimally-doped bare film. Our data suggest that the enhanced superconductivity is confined to the interface between the layers. We attribute the effect to a combination of the high pairing scale in the underdoped layer with an enhanced phase stiffness …
In the heavily hole-doped iron-based superconductors $A$Fe$_2$As$_2$ ($A=$ K, Rb, and Cs), the electron effective mass increases rapidly with alkali-ion radius. To study how the mass enhancement affects the superconducting state, we measure the London penetration depth $λ(T)$ in clean crystals of $A$Fe$_2$As$_2$ down to low temperature $T\sim0.1$ K. In all systems, the superfluid stiffness $ρ_s(T)=λ^2(0)/λ^2(T)$ can be approximated by a power-law $T$ dependence at low temperatures, indicating the robustness of strong momentum anisotropy in the superconducting gap $Δ(k)$. The power $α$ increase…
We study the hole binding energy and pairing correlations in the three-band Hubbard model coupled to an apical oxygen phonon, by exact diagonalization and constrained-path Monte Carlo simulations. In the physically relevant charge-transfer regime, we find that the hole binding energy is strongly enhanced by the electron-phonon interaction, which is due to a novel potential-energy-driven pairing mechanism involving reduction of both electronic potential energy and phonon related energy. The enhancement of hole binding energy, in combination with a phonon-induced increase of quasiparticle weight…
We report measurements of the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature T_c in single crystal samples of the rare-earth doped superconductor Ca$_{0.73}$La$_{0.27}$Fe$_2$As$_2$. We track T_c with two techniques, via in-plane resistivity measurements and with a resonant tunnel diode oscillator circuit which is sensitive to the skin depth. We show that initially T_c rises steeply with pressure, forming a superconducting dome with a maximum T_c of ~44 K at 20 kbar. We discuss this observation in the context of other electron-doped iron pnictide superconductors, and conclude…
We present inelastic neutron scattering results of phonons in (Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$)$_{1-x}$In$_x$Te powders, with $x=0$ and 0.3. The $x=0$ sample is a topological crystalline insulator, and the $x=0.3$ sample is a superconductor with a bulk superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ of 4.7 K. In both samples, we observe unexpected van Hove singularities in the phonon density of states at energies of 1--2.5 meV, suggestive of local modes. On cooling the superconducting sample through $T_c$, there is an enhancement of these features for energies below twice the superconducting-gap energy. We …
Recent Scanning Tunneling Spectra(STS) measurement on underdoped cuprate discovers the increase of the maximum superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ when the size of charge transfer gap (CTG) is reduced. Applying pressure is another well known method to increase maximum $T_c$. However, these pressure experiments also found another puzzle that $T_c$ is enhanced in underdoped and optimal doped samples but suppressed in overdoped. Here we present a possible mechanism based on the charge fluctuation to explain both these two effects simultaneously. Starting from 3-band Hubbard model, we ret…
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…
We report a detailed study, using neutron scattering, transport and magnetization measurements, of the interplay between superconducting (SC) and spin density wave (SDW) order in La2CuO(4+y). Both kinds of order set in below the same critical temperature. However, the SDW order grows with applied magnetic field, whereas SC order is suppressed. Most importantly, the field dependence of the SDW Bragg peak intensity has a cusp at zero field, as predicted by a recent theory of competing SDW and SC order. This leads us to conclude that there is a repulsive coupling between the two order parameters.…
The cuprate high-temperature superconductors are among the most intensively studied materials, yet essential questions regarding their principal phases and the transitions between them remain unanswered. Generally thought of as doped charge-transfer insulators, these complex lamellar oxides exhibit pseudogap, strange-metal, superconducting and Fermi-liquid behaviour with increasing hole-dopant concentration. Here we propose a simple inhomogeneous Mott-like (de)localization model wherein exactly one hole per copper-oxygen unit is gradually delocalized with increasing doping and temperature. The…
Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is used to study the mass renormalization of the charge carriers in the high-T_c superconductor (Pb,Bi)_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 in the vicinity of the (pi,0) point in the superconducting and the normal state. Using matrix element effects at different photon energies and due to a high momentum and energy resolution the bonding and the antibonding bands could be separated in the whole dopant range. A huge anisotropic coupling to a bosonic collective mode is observed below T_c for both bands in particular for the underdoped case. Above T_c, the more isotro…
In the unconventional superconductor Sr$\mathsf{_2}$RuO$\mathsf{_4}$, unusual first-order superconducting transition has been observed in the low-temperature and high-field region, accompanied by a four-fold anisotropy of the in-plane upper critical magnetic field $H_{c2}$. The origin of such unusual $H_{c2}$ behavior should be closely linked to the debated superconducting symmetry of this oxide. Here, toward clarification of the unusual $H_{c2}$ behavior, we performed the resistivity measurements capable of switching in-plane current directions as well as precisely controlling the field direc…
Charge density wave (CDW) instability is often found in phase diagrams of superconductors such as cuprates and certain transition-metal dichalcogenides. This proximity to superconductivity triggers the question on whether CDW instability is responsible for the pairing of electrons in these superconductors. However, this issue remains unclear and new systems are desired to provide a better picture. Here, we report the temperature-pressure phase diagram of a recently discovered BiS$_2$ superconductor La$_2$O$_2$Bi$_3$AgS$_6$, which shows a possible CDW transition at $T^*\sim$155 K and a supercon…
Motivated by the recent experiment in multilayered cuprate superconductors reporting the enhancement of antiferromagnetic order below the superconducting transition temperature, we study the proximity effect of the antiferromagnetic correlation in a bilayer system and also examine the possibility of a coexistence of antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity. We present the result of mean field theory that is consistent with the experiment and supports the proximity effect picture.
We present the results of precise correlated-electron calculations on the monomer lattices of the organic charge-transfer solids $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$X for 32 and 64 molecular sites. Our calculations are for band parameters corresponding to X = Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Cl and Cu$_2$(CN)$_3$, which are semiconducting antiferromagnetic and quantum spin liquid, respectively, at ambient pressure. We have performed our calculations for variable electron densities $ρ$ per BEDT-TTF molecule, with $ρ$ ranging from 1 to 2. We find that $d$-wave superconducting pair-pair correlations are enhanced by electron-electron …
We address the question of whether the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of high-Tc cuprates is enhanced when randomly distributed dopant atoms form an ordered array in the charge reservoir layers. This study is possible for the Sr2CuO3+d superconductor with K2NiF4-type structure in which oxygen atoms only partially occupy the apical sites next to the CuO2 planes and act as hole-dopants. We show that remarkable Tc enhancement up to 95K in this mono CuO2 layered HTS is associated with the apical oxygen ordering, not to the hole concentration change. The result points a route toward fu…
We study a model of a two-dimensional repulsive Fermi gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling $α_R$, and investigate the superconducting instability using renormalization group approach. We find that in general superconductivity is enhanced as the dimensionless ratio 1/2mα_R^2/E_F$ increases, resulting in unconventional superconducting states which break time reversal symmetry.
We report $^{115}$In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn$_5$ in the vicinity of the superconducting critical field $H_{c2}$ for a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the $\hat c$-axis. A possible inhomogeneous superconducting state, Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO), is stabilized in this part of the phase diagram. In 11 T applied magnetic field, we observe clear signatures of the two phase transitions: the higher temperature one to the homogeneous superconducting state and the lower temperature phase transition to a FFLO state. It …
We report resistivity and calorimetric measurements on two single crystals of CePd2Si2 pressurized up to 7.4 GPa. A weak uniaxial stress induced in the pressure cell demonstrates the sensitivity of the physics to anisotropy. Stress applied along the c-axis extends the whole phase diagram to higher pressures and enhances the superconducting phase emerging around the magnetic instability, with a 40% increase of the maximum superconducting temperature, Tc, and a doubled pressure range. Calorimetric measurements demonstrate the bulk nature of the superconductivity.
We study how shear moduli of a correlated metal change across superconducting phase transitions. Using a microscopic theory we explain why for most classes of superconductors this change is small. The Fe-based and the A15 systems are notable exceptions where the change is boosted by five orders of magnitude. We show that this boost is a consequence of enhanced nematic correlation. The theory explains the unusual temperature dependence of the orthorhombic shear and the back-bending of the nematic transition line in the superconducting phase of the Fe-based systems.
We study the effect of inhomogeneity of the paring interaction or the background potential on the superconducting transition temperature, T_c. In the weak coupling BCS regime, we find that inhomogeneity which is incommensurate with the Fermi surface nesting vectors enhances T_c relative to its value for the uniform system. For a fixed modulation strength we find that the highest T_c is reached when the characteristic modulation length scale is of the order of the superconducting coherence length.
In this paper, we investigate analytically the experimental observations of structural collapse and Tc enhancement in the rare earth-doped 122-type iron-based pnictide superconductors [S. R. Saha et.al. Phys. Rev. B 85, 024525 (2012), arXiv:1105.4798 (2011); B. Lv et al. PNAS 108, 15705 (2011).]. Based on the real-space effective c-axis lattice constant theory of superconductivity [X. Q. Huang, arXiv:1001.5067], it is shown that the abrupt c-axis reduction of the superconductors is due to the structural phase transition (an ultra-short-range symmetry breaking) of the charge stripe lattice. The…
We report on a study of thermal Hall conductivity k_xy in the superconducting state of CeCoIn_5. The scaling relation and the density of states of the delocalized quasiparticles, both obtained from k_xy, are consistent with d-wave superconducting symmetry. The onset of superconductivity is accompanied by a steep increase in the thermal Hall angle, pointing to a striking enhancement in the quasiparticle mean free path. This enhancement is drastically suppressed in a very weak magnetic field. These results highlight that CeCoIn_5 is unique among superconductors. A small Fermi energy, a large sup…
We present the results of Quantum Monte Carlo calculations for a two dimensional frustrated Hubbard model coupled to bond phonons. The model is known to have a d-wave superconducting ground state in the limit of large phonon frequency for sufficiently strong electron-phonon coupling. In the absence of electron-phonon coupling the Hubbard interaction U enhances superconducting pairing in the quarter-filled (density $ρ$ = 0.5) band. We show here that at $ρ$ = 0.5 electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions cooperatively reinforce d-wave pairing, while competing with each other at all othe…
The thermal conductivity of electron-doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals is investigated below 200K, with an emphasis on the behavior near the magnetic and superconducting (T_c) transition temperatures. An enhancement of the in-plane thermal conductivity $κ_{ab}$ is observed below T_c for all samples, with the greatest enhancement observed near optimal doping. The observed trends are consistent with the scattering of heat carriers by low-energy magnetic excitations. Upon entering the superconducting state, the formation of a spin-gap leads to reduced scattering and an enhancem…
It has been experimentally established that the occurrence of charge density waves is a common feature of various under-doped cuprate superconducting compounds. The observed states, which are often found in the form of bond density waves (BDW), often occur in a temperature regime immediately above the superconducting transition temperature. Motivated by recent optical experiments on superconducting materials, where it has been shown that optical irradiation can transiently improve the superconducting features, here, we propose a new approach for the enhancement of superconductivity by the targ…
We report large enhancement of upper critical field Hc2 observed in superconducting Sr2RuO4 thin films. Through dimensional crossover approaching two dimensions, Hc2 except the in-plane field direction is dramatically enhanced compared to bulks, following a definite relation distinct from bulk one between Hc2 and the transition temperature. The anomalous enhancement of Hc2 is highly suggestive of important changes of the superconducting properties, possibly accompanied with rotation of the triplet d-vector. Our findings will become a crucial step to further explore exotic properties by employi…
Properties of an extended periodic Anderson model with the f-c Coulomb interaction $\Ufc$ is studied as a model for \Ge and related compounds which is cosidered to exhibit a sharp valence change under pressure. The problem is treated by extending the {\it slave-boson} and large-N expansion method to treat the present system. It is shown that, as the f-level $ε_{\rm f}$ is increased relative to the Fermi level, the sharp valence change is caused by the effect of $\Ufc$ with moderate strength of the order of the bandwith of conduction electrons. The superconducting transition temperature $T_\rc$…
With substantial evidence of glassy behavior in the phase diagram of high $T_c$ superconductors and its co-existence with superconductivity, we attempt to answer the question: what are the properties of a superconducting state where the force driving cooper pairing becomes dissipative? We find that when the bosonic mediator is local, dissipation acts to reduce the superconducting critical temperature ($T_c$). On the other hand, contrary to naïve expectations, $T_c$ behaves non-monotonically with dissipation for a non-local mediator -- weakly dissipative bosons at different energy scales act co…
In most unconventional superconductors, like the high-Tc cuprates, iron pnictides, or heavy fermion systems, superconductivity emerges in the proximity of an electronic instability. Identifying unambiguously the pairing mechanism remains nevertheless an enormous challenge. Among these systems, the orthorhombic uranium ferromagnetic superconductors have a unique position, notably because magnetic fields couple directly to ferromagnetic order, leading to the fascinating discovery of the re-emergence of superconductivity in URhGe at high field. Here we show that uniaxial stress is a remarkable to…
Phonon softening is a ubiquitous phenomenon in condensed matter systems which is often associated with charge density wave (CDW) instabilities and anharmonicity. The interplay between phonon softening, CDW and superconductivity is a topic of intense debate. In this work, the effects of anomalous soft phonon instabilities on superconductivity are studied based on a recently developed theoretical framework that accounts for phonon damping and softening within the Migdal-Eliashberg theory. Model calculations show that the phonon softening in the form of a sharp dip in the phonon dispersion relati…
We study the interplay between the stripe order and the superconducting order in a strongly coupled striped superconductor using gauge/gravity duality. In particular, we study the effects of inhomogeneity introduced by the stripe order on the superconducting transition temperature beyond the mean field level by including the effects of backreaction onto the spacetime geometry in the dual gravitational picture. We find that inhomogeneity \emph{enhances} the critical temperature relative to its value for the uniform system.
