Tandem pairing in heavy-fermion superconductors

We consider the internal structure of a d-wave heavy-fermion superconducting condensate, showing that it necessarily contains two components condensed in tandem: pairs of quasiparticles on neighboring sites and composite pairs consisting of two electrons bound to a single local moment. These two components draw upon the antiferromagnetic and Kondo interactions to cooperatively enhance the superconducting transition temperature. This tandem condensate is electrostatically active, with an electric quadrupole moment predicted to lead to a superconducting shift in the nuclear quadrupole resonance frequency.     

Cross-over effects in heavy-fermion superconductors

The influence of correlation effects on superconductivity in lanthanide and actinide compounds is investigated theoretically. As driving mechanism for the formation of heavy-fermion Cooper pairs different electron-phonon interactions are considered and discussed within the Anderson lattice model. The elimination of the bare electron-phonon interactions and a BCS-like truncation procedure lead to the appearance of different types of Cooper pairs. The stability of these Cooper pairs in the Kondo lattice state is studied by using a semi-phenomenological parameter which effectively describes the correlation off electrons. It is found that hybrid pairing is less important and that superconductivity of conduction andf electrons always occurs simultaneously. Furthermore, in the case of strongly correlatedf electrons a cross-over takes place from mainly heavy-fermion superconductivity to conduction electron superconductivity.Dedicated to B. Mühlschlegel on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Negative muon hyperfine transition rate in aluminum

The residual polarization of theF ^– hyperfine state of ^–27Al has been investigated as a function of applied transverse magnetic field strength using standard TD- ^–SR techniques. TheF ^– precession frequency is –0.2623(5) [theoretical value: –0.2622] times that of the free muon in the same field. The observed muon decay electron asymmetry in theF ^– state decreases with increasing magnetic field strength, due to initial precession in the opposite direction of theF ⁺ state, which most muon initially populate, followed by a rapid transition to theF ^– state. A fit of the data to this model indicates a transition rateR=41(9)s^–1, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. This method can be used to determineR experimentally in other cases where it is too fast to be observed directly.     

A cluster calculation of the muon hyperfine field in nickel

We have performed a partially self-consistent, first-principles calculation of the hyperfine field at a ⁺ at the octahedral interstitial site in ferromagnetic nickel. Using a package of programs made available by the Department of Theoretical Chemistry of the University of Mexico, various calculations were performed of the spin-dependent charge density in the central region of a spherically averaged superposition of atomic charge densities. In this way it was found that: (1) The electronic configuration of bulk Ni contains a significant amount of 4p-states, in agreement with other calculations¹. (2) The ⁺ produces only a weak perturbation on its nearest-neighbor Ni atoms. (3) The hyperfine field at the ⁺ is opposite to the bulk magnetization and has the value –590 G, in good agreement with the measured² value of –641 G.     

Negative muon spin precession in ferromagnetic iron and the hyperfine anomaly

The hyperfine field (B _μ ^hf ) at the negative muon μ⁻ in ferromagnetic iron was investigated by means of the zero-field μ⁻ spin precession technique. In the temperature range 320–690 K,B _μ ^hf for μ⁻ Fe departs from the magnetization curve of pure iron in the same way as the hyperfine field seen by a⁵⁵Mn impurity in dilute MnFe measured by NMR. The hyperfine anomaly for μ⁻ Fe relative to dilute (1.5 at.%)⁵⁵Mn in iron is found to be −0.9(3)% and temperature independent over the temperature range investigated.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the heavy-fermion system URu2Si2

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and relaxation studies on ²⁹Si have been carried out on the heavy Fermion system URu₂Si₂. Above the Kondo temperature of about 60 K, the nuclear relaxation time T₁ is nearly temperature independent, which is consistent with the occurrence of fluctuations of localized U moments. Below about 60 K T₁ is inversely proportional to temperature suggesting that the system behaves like a Fermi liquid. A sharp increase in T₁ occurs below 17 K which is probably associated with the opening of an energy gap at the Fermi surface due to the formation of a spin density wave state. Below about 10 K, T₁ reacquires the inverse temperature dependence observed in the 17 K ∼ 60 K temperature range.     

The classification of superconductors using muon spin rotation

In this paper we explore the role of muon spin rotation (μSR) techniques in the characterization and classification of superconducting materials. In particular we focus upon the Uemura classification scheme which considers the correlation between the superconducting transition temperature,T _c, and the effective Fermi temperature,T _F, determined from μSR measurements of the penetration depth. Within this scheme strongly correlated “exotic” superconductors, i.e, hightT _C cuprates, heavy fermions, Chevrel phases and the organic superconductors, form a common but distinct group, characterized by a universal scaling ofT _C withT _F such that 1/100 <T _C/T _F<1/10. For conventional BCS superconductorsT _C/T _F<1/1000. The results of new μSR measurements of the penetration depth in superconducting Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C and YB₆ are also presented. In Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C the decrease ofT _C with increasing Co concentration is linked to a marked decrease in the carrier density from 2.9·10²⁸ m^?3 atx=0 to 0.6·10²⁸ m^?3, atx=0.1, while the carrier mass enhancement remains almost constant at approximately 10. For YB₆ we find evidence of a modest enhancement of the carrier mass (m ^*/m=3), and a relatively low carrier density of 0.24·10²⁸ m^?3. These results are discussed within the Uemura classification scheme. It is found that neither Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C withT _c/T _F>>1/250 nor YB₆ withT _C/T _F>>1/340 can be definitively classified as either “exttic” or “conventional”, but instead the compounds display behavior which interpolates between the two regimes.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance study of strongly correlated superconductors

This paper introduces nuclear magnetic resonance works in the strongly correlated super-conductors: heavy-Fermion, high-T _C superconductors and Sr₂RuO₄. The analyses strongly support the spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity model in a high-T _C superconductor.     

Nuclear quadrupole resonance study of heavy fermion superconductors

By using nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR), nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1 /T₁ of the heavy fermion superconductors (URu₂Si₂, UPd₂Al₃, CeRu₂) has been measured. The NQR measurement requires no external field, and is especially suitable for ¹⁰⁵Pd and ¹⁰¹Ru, which have very small nuclear gyromagnetic ratios and large electric quadrupole moments. In URu₂Si₂ and UPd₂Al₃, the absence of the Hebel–Slichter coherence peak just below the superconducting transition temperature T_C and the power law temperature dependence (T³) in the superconducting state has shown appearance of anisotropic non-s-wave superconductivity. On the contrary, an exponential temperature dependence of 1/T₁ was observed in CeRu₂, indicating the superconductivity to be conventional s-wave. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Andreev reflection in heavy-fermion superconductors and order parameter symmetry in CeCoIn5

Differential conductance spectra are obtained from nanoscale junctions on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 along three major crystallographic orientations. Consistency and reproducibility of characteristic features among the junctions ensure their spectroscopic nature. All junctions show a similar conductance asymmetry and Andreev reflectionlike conductance with a reduced signal ( approximately 10%-13%), both commonly observed in heavy-fermion superconductor junctions. Analysis using the extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model indicates that our data provide the first spectroscopic evidence for d_{x;{2}-y;{2}} symmetry. To quantify our conductance spectra, we propose a model by considering the general phenomenology in heavy fermions, the two-fluid behavior, and an energy-dependent density of states. Our model fits to the experimental data remarkably well and should invigorate further investigations.     

A muon‐spin‐rotation study of the superconducting condensate density in high temperature superconductors

Muon‐spin‐rotation studies on a variety of polycrystalline cuprate high‐T_ c superconductors reveal a generic dependence of the superconducting transition temperature T_ c upon condensate density throughout the entire range of hole doping. Upon full oxygenation the CuO chains in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-\delta become metallic and superconducting and the condensate density is dramatically enhanced. The very rapid suppression of the condensate density n_ s upon Zn substitution in YBa₂(Cu_1-xZn_x)₃O_6+\delta is inconsistent with s‐wave pairing and magnetic scattering but points towards a d‐wave pairing state with non‐magnetic scattering in the unitarity limit. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.