Multiband superconductivity in the Chevrel phases SnMo6S8 and PbMo6S8

Sub-Kelvin scanning tunneling spectroscopy in the Chevrel phases SnMo6S8 and PbMo6S8 reveals two distinct superconducting gaps with Δ1=3 meV, Δ2～1.0 meV and Δ1=3.1 meV, Δ2～1.4 meV, respectively. The gap distribution is strongly anisotropic, with Δ2 predominantly seen when scanning across unit-cell steps on the (001) sample surface. The spectra are well fitted by an anisotropic two-band BCS s-wave gap function. Our spectroscopic data are confirmed by electronic heat capacity measurements, which also provide evidence for a twin-gap scenario.     

Absence of superconductivity down to 80 mK in graphite intercalated BaC6

Following recent theoretical and experimental investigations of superconductivity in the graphite intercalated compounds CaC₆ and SrC₆, we report on a very low temperature magnetisation study on BaC₆ down to 80 mK. The data show no trace of superconductivity even at fields as low as 0.7 Oe. Using a McMillan parametrisation of the BCS parameters, we conclude that the Coulomb pseudopotential is expected to be as large as 0.19 in both BaC₆ and SrC₆, i.e. 40% larger than in CaC₆. As an alternative scenario, we argue that extrinsic effects such as intercalant disorder may depress superconductivity in both BaC₆ and SrC₆, as in the case of CaC₆.     

Evidence for impurity phase superconductivity in EuMo6S8 under pressure

Magnetization measurements in a static field as a function of temperature (2.5–20K) and pressure to 14 kbar are reported for a series of well characterized samples of EuMo_6+xS_8?y. From these d.c. magnetization data, we find no evidence for bulk superconductivity in any of our samples, although some of them exhibit a strong diamagnetic anomaly in the a.c. susceptibility under pressure, similar to that reported in the literature. An explanation for this anomaly is presented in terms of the presence of a granular superconducting impurity on the grain boundaries of the Chevrel phase compound EuMo₆S₈.     

Renormalization of spectral line shape and dispersion below Tc in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Angle-resolved photoemission data in the superconducting state of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta show a kink in the dispersion along the zone diagonal, which is related via a Kramers-Kr?nig analysis to a drop in the low energy scattering rate. As one moves towards (pi,0), this kink evolves into a spectral dip. The occurrence of these anomalies in the dispersion and line shape throughout the zone indicates the presence of a new energy scale in the superconducting state.     

Interplay among superconductivity,charge density waves,and magnetism in EuMo6S8

In a one-dimensional metal, the energy of the electrons can always be lowered by opening an energy gap around the Fermi energy (the Peierls instability): all occupied states are then in the lower-energy band, while the higher-energy band is empty. The opening of such a gap requires a structural distortion, resulting in the formation of a charge density wave. In a three-dimensional system, the gapping takes place in the region where the Fermi surface is nested (i.e., large parallel areas of the Fermi surface are spanned by a certain wave vector), giving rise to partial gapping of the Fermi surface, accompanied by a structural distortion. In this case, a charge density wave can coexist with superconductivity. Both charge-density-wave and superconducting transitions involve the formation of an energy gap at the Fermi energy. A charge-density-wave gap is formed at a region of the Fermi surface where there is a high density of electronic states. In such a material, there is also a strong electronphonon interaction. A region with high density of states and a high electron-phonon interaction is just the portion of the Fermi surface that will enhance the superconducting transition temperature, according to the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer) theory. When a charge-density-wave gap opens up at the Fermi surface these electronic states are no longer available to form Cooper pairs and to enhance the superconducting transition temperature. The opposite is also true; if a superconducting gap opens, the states involved in forming this gap are no longer available to take part in a charge-density-wave transition. It appears that charge density waves and superconductivity compete for the same portion of the Fermi surface and thus inhibit each other. In this paper, we will review a unique situation with respect to the competition between these two ground states and will also discuss how this competition affects the anomalous behavior of critical field in EuMo6S, at high pressure.     

ESR line shift in NiSnCl6·6H2O at very low temperatures

Electron spin resonance in a single-ground-state magnet, NiSnCl₆·6H₂O, has been studied at temperatures between 83 mK and 4.2 K. Below 1 K, the resonance lines show marked shifts, which can be described quantitatively in terms of exchange shift due to polarization effects treated by McMillan and Opechowski. The shifts give 2J = ?(0.55 ± 0.15) × 10^?2 cm^?1 for the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction among the Ni²⁺ ions in this crystal. The value of 2J is sub-critical in the sense that no spontaneous long-range order can be expected in this singlet-ground-state magnet.     

Disorder in superconductors—a study on Cu2Mo6S8

Some of the recent work on disorder-induced changes inT _c is reviewed. Shock-pressures induce a disorder uncomplicated by antisite disorder typical of particle irradiation, and have generated interest because of the shock-synthesis of A-15 Nb₃Si. In this paper we present our results on laser-induced shock-damage, and compare it with the results on V₃Si and the results on particle irradiation of Chevrel phase superconductors.     

Irradiation damage in carbon-doped silicon irradiated at low temperatures by 2 MeV electrons

Abstract

Irradiation of silicon by 2 MeV electrons at 130°K leads to the removal of carbon from substitutional sites and the formation of centres with axial symmetry having vibrational modes at 921 and 930 cm^?1 for ¹²C; large isotope shifts are found in crystals containing ¹³C and ¹⁴C. This centre is considered to involve interstitial carbon atoms but not oxygen impurities. On annealing such irradiated crystals to room temperature the concentration of these centres is reduced and a new transient centre involving carbon has been detected. Further annealing leads to the formation of the well known 11.56μm absorption band in pulled crystals and it is shown that this may be correlated with another band at 1115.5 cm^?1. Again large isotope effects are found in crystals containing ¹³C and ¹⁴C and this centre is ascribed to a [O-C] complex involving an interstitial carbon atom.     

Interplay of superconductivity and rattling phenomena in beta-pyrochlore KOs2O6 studied by photoemission spectroscopy

The electronic structure near the Fermi level (EF) of the beta-pyrochlore superconductor KOs2O6 is studied using laser-excited ultrahigh-resolution photoemission spectroscopy. The superconducting gap clearly opens across the superconducting transition (Tc=9.6 K), with the strong electron-phonon coupling value of 2Delta(0)/k B Tc>or=4.56. A fitting analysis identifies clear anomalies at Tp=7.5 K in the temperature dependencies of the superconducting gap size and the quasiparticle relaxation lifetime. These anomalies and the fine spectral structures arising from phonons suggest that the existence of the rattling behavior of K ions significantly affects the superconductivity in KOs2O6.     

Effects of sample size on the second magnetization peak in Bi2Sr2CaCuO8+δ at low temperatures

Effects of sample size on the second magnetization peak (SMP) in Bi₂Sr₂CaCuO₈+δ crystals are observed at low temperatures, above the temperature where the SMP totally disappears. In particular, the onset of the SMP shifts to lower fields as the sample size decreases —a result that could be interpreted as a size effect in the orderdisorder vortex matter phase transition. However, local magnetic measurements trace this effect to metastable disordered vortex states, revealing the same order-disorder transition induction in samples of different size.     

Coherent manipulation of electron spins up to ambient temperatures in Cr5+ (S = 1/2) doped K3NbO8

We report coherent spin manipulation on Cr(5+) (S = 1/2, I = 0) doped K(3)NbO(8), which constitutes a dilute two-level model relevant for use as a spin qubit. Rabi oscillations are observed for the first time in a spin system based on transition metal oxides up to room temperature. At liquid helium temperature the phase coherence relaxation time T2 reaches approximately 10 micros and, with a Rabi frequency of 20 MHz, yields a single-qubit figure of merit Q(M) of about 500. This shows that a diluted ensemble of Cr(5+) (S = 1/2) doped K(3)NbO(8) is a potential candidate for solid-state quantum information processing.     

The lattice parameters of K2SnCl6 at low temperatures determined by high resolution single crystal X-ray diffraction

The temperature dependence of lattice parameters of K₂SnCl₆ was measured in the temperature range 300 K>T>240 K by means of high resolution single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. The cubic phase ($\text{a=9.986(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{,}\text{Z}\text{=4,}\text{T}\text{=280 K}$) was confirmed, whereas in disagreement to earlier authors the intermediate phase was proved to be orthorhombic ($\text{a}\text{=9.966(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{, (}\text{b}\text{=9.948(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{,}\text{c}\text{=10.002(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{,}\text{Z}\text{=4,}\text{T}\text{=258 K}$), and the monoclinic phase to have another unit cell ($\text{a}\text{=9.951(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{,}\text{b}\text{=9.948(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{,}\text{c}\text{=10.005(2)}\text{A}\text{?}\text{, β=90.099°,}\text{Z}\text{=4,}\text{T}\text{=250 K}$). In a small temperature range between the cubic and the orthorhombic phase reflexion splittings and the occurence of superstructure reflexions indicate a further intermediate phase.     

Nanoscopic coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6+x detected by muon spin rotation

We performed zero and transverse field muon spin rotation experiments on a large number of YBa2Cu3O6+x samples. We detect the coexistence of antiferromagnetic (AF) short range magnetism with superconductivity below T(f) < or = 10 K in compositions 0.37 < or = x < or = 0.39. Most muons experience local AF fields, even when a SQUID detects a full superconducting volume fraction, which points to a local minimal interference organization of short AF stripes embedded in the superconductor. A detailed phase diagram is produced and the consequences of the minimal interference are discussed.     

High Ni2+-mobility in the Chevrel phase Ni2Mo6S8: a quasielastic neutron scattering study

A quasielastic neutron scattering study of Ni₂Mo₆S₈ has established relatively fast long-range motion of the intercalated Ni²⁺ ions, with a diffusion constantD=3×10^–9 cm² s^–1. A model with a jump distance of about 2.1 Å and an activation energy of 24 kJ/mol is favoured. A critical consideration of the information contained in fixed window measurements is given.     

Coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism probed by simultaneous nuclear magnetic resonance and electrical transport in (TMTSF)2PF6 system

We report simultaneous NMR and electrical transport experiments in the pressure range near the boundary of the antiferromagnetic spin density wave (SDW) insulator and the metallic/superconducting (SC) phase in (TMTSF)2PF6. Measurements indicate a tricritical point separating a line of second-order SDW/metal transitions from a line of first-order SDW/metal(SC) transitions with coexistence of macroscopic regions of SDW and metal(SC) order, with little mutual interaction but strong hysteretic effects. NMR results quantify the fraction of each phase.