Pronounced enhancement of the lower critical field and critical current deep in the superconducting state of PrOs4Sb12

We have observed an unexpected enhancement of the lower critical field H(c1)(T) and the critical current I(c)(T) deep in the superconducting state below T approximately 0.6 K (T/T(c) approximately 0.3) in the filled skutterudite heavy fermion superconductor PrOs(4)Sb(12). From a comparison of the behavior of H(c1)(T) with that of the heavy fermion superconductors U(1-x)Th(x)Be(13) and UPt(3), we speculate that the enhancement of H(c1)(T) and I(c)(T) in PrOs(4)Sb(12) reflects a transition into another superconducting phase that occurs below T/T(c) approximately 0.3. An examination of the literature reveals unexplained anomalies in other physical properties of PrOs(4)Sb(12) near T/T(c) approximately 0.3 that correlate with the features we have observed in H(c1)(T) and I(c)(T).     

Bose-Einstein condensation of S = 1 nickel spin degrees of freedom in NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2

It has recently been suggested that the organic compound NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2 (DTN) undergoes field-induced Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of the Ni spin degrees of freedom. The Ni S = 1 spins exhibit three-dimensional XY antiferromagnetism above a critical field H(c1) approximately 2 T. The spin fluid can be described as a gas of hard-core bosons where the field-induced antiferromagnetic transition corresponds to Bose-Einstein condensation. We have determined the spin Hamiltonian of DTN using inelastic neutron diffraction measurements, and we have studied the high-field phase diagram by means of specific heat and magnetocaloric effect measurements. Our results show that the field-temperature phase boundary approaches a power-law H - H(c1) proportional variant T(alpha)(c) near the quantum critical point, with an exponent that is consistent with the 3D BEC universal value of alpha = 1.5.     

Temperature dependence of the flux line lattice transition into square symmetry in superconducting LuNi2B2C

We have investigated the temperature dependence of the H parallel to c flux line lattice structural phase transition from square to hexagonal symmetry, in the tetragonal superconductor LuNi2B2C ( T(c) = 16.6 K). At temperatures below 10 K the transition onset field, H2(T), is only weakly temperature dependent. Above 10 K, H2(T) rises sharply, bending away from the upper critical field. This contradicts theoretical predictions of H2(T) merging with the upper critical field and suggests that just below the H(c2)(T) curve the flux line lattice might be hexagonal.     

Systematic effects of carbon doping on the superconducting properties of Mg(B1-xCx)(2)

The upper critical field, H(c2), of Mg(B1-xCx)(2) has been measured in order to probe the maximum magnetic field range for superconductivity that can be attained by C doping. Carbon doped MgB2 filaments were prepared, and for carbon levels below 4% the transition temperatures are depressed by about 1 K/% C and H(c2)(T=0) rises by about 5 T/% C. This means that 3.8% C substitution will depress T(c) from 39.2 to 36.2 K and raise H(c2)(T=0) from 16.0 to 32.5 T. These rises in H(c2) are accompanied by a rise in resistivity at 40 K from about 0.5 to about 10 microOmega cm.     

NMR evidence for a "Generalized spin-peierls Transition" in the high-magnetic-field phase of the spin ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4

The magnetic-field-induced 3D ordered phase of the two-leg spin ladder Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4 has been probed through measurements of 1H NMR spectra and 1/T1 in the temperature range 70 mK-1.2 K. The second order transition line T(c)(H) has been determined between H(c1) = 7.52 T and H(c2) = 13.5 T and varies as (H-H(c1))(2/3) close to H(c1). From the observation of anomalous shifts and a crossover in 1/T1 above T(c), the mechanism of the 3D transition is argued to be magnetoelastic as in spin-Peierls chains, here involving a displacement of the protons along the longitudinal exchange ( J( parallel)) path.     

Lower critical field and superfluid density of highly underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x single crystals

The lower critical field H(c1) for highly underdoped YBa2Cu3O(6+x) with T(c) between 8.9 and 22 K has been determined by measurements of magnetization M(H) curves with applied field parallel to the c axis. H(c1) is linear in temperatures below about 0.6T(c), and H(c1)(0) is proportional to T(1.64+/-0.04)(c), clearly violating the proportionality between rho(s)(0) and T(c). Moreover, the slope -dH(c1)/dT decreases steeply toward zero as T(c) approaches zero, indicating that the effective charge of the quasiparticles vanishes as the doping is decreased toward the insulating phase.     

Stepwise behavior of vortex-lattice melting transition in tilted magnetic fields in single crystals of Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8 + delta)

The vortex-lattice melting transition in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8 + delta) single crystals was studied using in-plane resistivity measurements in magnetic fields tilted away from the c axis to the ab plane. In order to avoid the surface barrier effect which hinders the melting transition in the conventional transport measurements, we used the Corbino geometry of electric contacts. The complete H(c) - H(ab) phase diagram of the melting transition in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8 + delta) is obtained for the first time. The c-axis melting field component H(c)(melt) exhibits the novel, stepwise dependence on the in-plane magnetic fields H(ab) which is discussed on the basis of the crossing vortex-lattice structure. The peculiar resistance behavior observed near the ab plane suggests the change of phase transition character from first to second order.     

Pressure induced effects on the Fermi surface of superconducting 2H-NbSe2

The pressure dependence of the critical temperature T(c) and upper critical field H(c2)(T) has been measured up to 19 GPa in the layered superconducting material 2H-NbSe2. T(c)(P) has a maximum at 10.5 GPa, well above the pressure for the suppression of the charge density wave (CDW) order. Using an effective two-band model to fit H(c2)(T), we obtain the pressure dependence of the anisotropy in the electron-phonon coupling and Fermi velocities, which reveals the peculiar interplay between CDW order, Fermi surface complexity, and superconductivity in this system.     

Critical velocity of continuous vortex nucleation in a slab of superfluid 3He-A

A flow-induced Fréedericksz transition is observed in a 0.26 mm thick disk-shaped slab of superfluid 3He-A using a rotating cryostat and a torsional oscillator, and it is used to detect vortices in zero magnetic field. The phenomena are studied as a function of magnetic field normal to the slab. In defect-free l texture the critical velocity for vortex nucleation is 0.5 mm/s, but in the presence of a domain wall it is reduced to approximately Planck's over 2pi /2ma(c), where a(c)(H) is the field-dependent radius of the vortex soft core. The vortices nucleate at a distance at least 0.3 mm from the outer edge of the disk.     

In-plane anisotropy of upper critical field in Sr2RuO4

We investigated the behavior of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 ( T(c) approximately 1.5 K) under the magnetic fields parallel to the quasi-two-dimensional plane. The upper critical field H(c2) exhibits a clear fourfold anisotropy of about 3% at 0.35 K. Furthermore, we detected an additional transition feature below H(c2) in both the ac susceptibility and the specific heat. These second-transition features as well as the pronounced in-plane H(c2) anisotropy disappear above 0.8 K or under intentional field misalignment of less than 1 degrees. Most of these characteristics are consistent with the predicted emergence of the second superconducting phase with a line-node gap.     

Flux flow of Abrikosov-Josephson vortices along grain boundaries in high-temperature superconductors

Low-angle grain boundaries (GBs) in superconductors exhibit intermediate Abrikosov vortices with Josephson cores, whose length l along GB is smaller than the London penetration depth, but larger than the coherence length. We found an exact solution for a periodic vortex structure moving along GBs in a magnetic field H and calculated the flux flow resistivity R(F)(H), and the nonlinear voltage-current characteristics. The predicted R(F)(H) dependence describes well our experimental data on 7 unirradiated and irradiated YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) bicrystals, from which the core size l(T), and the intrinsic depairing density J(b)(T) on nanoscales of a few GB dislocations were measured for the first time. The observed J(b)(T) = J(b0)(1-T/T(c))(2) indicates a significant order parameter suppression on GB.     

Synthesis of a new alkali metal-organic solvent intercalated iron selenide superconductor with T(c)?≈?45?K

We report on a new iron selenide superconductor with a T(c) onset of 45?K and the nominal composition Li(x)(C(5)H(5)N)(y)Fe(2-z)Se(2), synthesized via intercalation of dissolved alkaline metal in anhydrous pyridine at room temperature. This superconductor exhibits a broad transition, reaching zero resistance at 10?K. Magnetization measurements reveal a superconducting shielding fraction of approximately 30%. Analogous phases intercalated with Na, K and Rb were also synthesized and characterized. The superconducting transition temperature of Li(x)(C(5)H(5)N)(y)Fe(2-z)Se(2) is clearly enhanced in comparison to those of the known superconductors FeSe(0.98) (T(c)?～?8?K) and A(x)Fe(2-y)Se(2) (T(c)?～?27-32?K) and is in close agreement with critical temperatures recently reported for Li(x)(NH(3))(y)Fe(2-z)Se(2). Post-annealing of intercalated material (Li(x)(C(5)H(5)N)(y)Fe(2-z)Se(2)) at elevated temperatures drastically enlarges the c-parameter of the unit cell (～44%) and increases the superconducting shielding fraction to nearly 100%. Our findings indicate a new synthesis route leading to possibly even higher critical temperatures for materials in this class: by intercalation of organic compounds between Fe-Se layers.     

First-order antiferro-ferromagnetic transition in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) under simultaneous application of magnetic field and external pressure

A magnetic field-pressure-temperature (H-P-T) phase diagram for first-order antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transitions in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) has been constructed using resistivity measurements under simultaneous application of magnetic field (up to 8 T) and pressure (up to 20 kbar). The temperature dependence of resistivity (ρ-T) shows that the width of the transition and the extent of hysteresis decreases with pressure and increases with magnetic field. By exploiting opposing trends of dT(N)/dP and dT(N)/dH (where T(N) is the first-order transition temperature), the relative effects of temperature, magnetic field and pressure on disorder-broadened first-order transitions has been studied. For this, a set of H and P values are chosen for which T(N)(H(1),P(1)) = T(N)(H(2),P(2)). Measurements for such combinations of H and P show that the temperature dependence of resistivity is similar, i.e. the broadening (in temperature) of transition as well as the extent of hysteresis remains independent of H and P. Isothermal magnetoresistance measurements under various constant pressures show that even though the critical field required for AFM-FM transition depends on applied pressure, the extent of hysteresis as well as transition width (in magnetic field) remains constant with varying pressure.     

Macroscopic superconducting current through a silicon surface reconstruction with indium adatoms: Si(111)-(√7 × √3)-In

Macroscopic and robust supercurrents are observed by direct electron transport measurements on a silicon surface reconstruction with In adatoms [Si(111)-(√7 × √3)-In]. The superconducting transition manifests itself as an emergence of the zero resistance state below 2.8 K. I-V characteristics exhibit sharp and hysteretic switching between superconducting and normal states with well-defined critical and retrapping currents. The two-dimensional (2D) critical current density J(2D,c) is estimated to be as high as 1.8 A/m at 1.8 K. The temperature dependence of J(2D,c) indicates that the surface atomic steps play the role of strongly coupled Josephson junctions.     

Wilson ratio of a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid in a spin-1/2 Heisenberg ladder

Using micromechanical force magnetometry, we have measured the magnetization of the strong-leg spin-1/2 ladder compound (C(7)H(10)N)(2)CuBr(2) at temperatures down to 45 mK. Low-temperature magnetic susceptibility as a function of field exhibits a maximum near the critical field H(c) at which the magnon gap vanishes, as expected for a gapped one-dimensional antiferromagnet. Above H(c) a clear minimum appears in the magnetization as a function of temperature, as predicted by theory. In this field region, the susceptibility in conjunction with our specific-heat data yields the Wilson ratio R(W). The result supports the relation R(W)=4K, where K is the Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid parameter.     

Fermi surface of CeIn3 above the Néel critical field

We report measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen effect in CeIn(3) in magnetic fields extending to approximately 90 T, well above the Néel critical field of mu(0)H(c) approximately 61 T. The unreconstructed Fermi surface a sheet is observed in the high magnetic field polarized paramagnetic limit, but with its effective mass and Fermi surface volume strongly reduced in size compared to that observed in the low magnetic field paramagnetic regime under pressure. The spheroidal topology of this sheet provides an ideal realization of the transformation from a "large Fermi surface" accommodating f electrons to a "small Fermi surface" when the f-electron moments become polarized.     

Superconductivity in the americium metal as a function of pressure: probing the Mott transition

High-pressure measurements of the resistivity of americium metal are reported to 27 GPa and down to temperatures of 0.4 K. The unusual dependence of the superconducting temperature (T(c)) on pressure is deduced. The critical field [H(c)(0) extrapolated to T=0] increases dramatically from 0.05 to approximately 1 T as the pressure is increased, suggesting that the type of superconductivity is changing as pressure increases. At pressures of approximately 16 GPa the 5f electrons of Am are changing from localized to itinerant, and the crystal structure also transforms to a complex one. The role of a Mott-type transition in the development of the peak in T(c) above 16 GPa is postulated.     

Anisotropy of the upper critical field in c-axis oriented MgB2 thin films

C-axis oriented MgB_2 thin films were synthesized on single-crystal MgO (111) substrates using a chemical vapour deposition technique. The as-formed films revealed a sharp superconducting transition temperature of 38K with the transition width 0.2K. The temperature dependence of the upper critical magnetic field H_{c2}(T) in the films was determined via resistivity for magnetic field H parallel and perpendicular to the c axis of the films. Using the Werthamer－Helfand－Hohenberg formula, we obtained the anisotropy ratio of the upper critical field γ=1.2.     

Breakup of the Fermi surface near the mott transition in low-dimensional systems

We investigate the Mott transition in weakly coupled one-dimensional (1D) fermionic chains. Using a generalization of dynamical mean field theory, we show that the Mott gap is suppressed at some critical hopping t{ perpendicular}{c2}. The transition from the 1D insulator to a 2D metal proceeds through an intermediate phase where the Fermi surface is broken into electron and hole pockets. The quasiparticle spectral weight is strongly anisotropic along the Fermi surface, both in the intermediate and metallic phases. We argue that such pockets would look like "arcs" in photoemission experiments.