Enhancement of superconductivity by an external magnetic field in magnetic alloys

An infinite-volume limit solution of the thermodynamics of a BCS superconductor containing spin 1/2 and 7/2 magnetic impurities, obtained recently in [D. Borycki, J. Ma?kowiak, Supercond. Sci. Technol. 24, 035007 (2011)] is exploited to derive the expressions for critical magnetic field $\mathcal{H}_c$ (T). The credibility of the resulting thermodynamically limited theoretical equations, which depend on the magnetic coupling constant g and impurity concentration c, is verified on the experimental data for the following superconducting alloys: LaCe, ThGd and SmRh₄B₄. Good quantitative agreement with experimental data is found for sufficiently small values of c. The discrepancies between theoretical and experimental values of $\mathcal{H}_c$ (T) for larger values of c in case of LaCe and ThGd are reduced by introducing the concept of the effective temperature $\tilde T$ , which accounts for the Coulomb interactions between the electron gas and impurity ions. At low temperatures, the critical magnetic field is found to increase with decreasing temperature T. This enhancement of the critical magnetic field provides evidence of the Jaccarino-Peter effect, which was experimentally observed in the Kondo systems like LaCe, (La_{1 ? x} Ce _x )Al₂ and also in the pseudoternary compounds, including Sn_{1 ? x} Eu _x Mo₆S₈, Pb_{1 ? x} Eu _x Mo₆S₈ and La_{1.2 ? x} Eu _x Mo₆S₈. The effect of an external magnetic field $\mathcal{H}$ on a BCS superconductor perturbed by magnetic impurities was also studied. On these grounds, by analyzing the dependence of superconducting transition temperature T _c on $\mathcal{H}$ of (La_{1 ? x} Ce _x )Al₂, we have shown, that for certain parameter values, external magnetic field compensates the destructive effect of magnetic impurities.     

High field superconductivity in thin films

Thin films provide an ideal means for studying the role of spin paramagnetism in the theory of superconductivity. A review is given of the theoretical and experimental work available until now with respect to this problem. It includes a study of the excitation spectrum of thin films in a parallel magnetic field and the experimental evidence of Zeeman splitting of superconducting quasiparticles. The role of spin-orbit interaction is discussed in detail. The application of spin selective tunnelling is shown. Furthermore, it includes a study of the order of phase transition between the normal state and the paramagnetically limited superconducting state. A detailed discussion is given of the generalized Ginzburg-Landau equation including numerical evaluations. The applicability of Tinkham's formula is discussed, which is relevant for the determination of critical fields of arbitrary orientations to the film. Finally, account is given of the work which deals with the influence of spin paramagnetism on superconducting fluctuations. Recent experimental and theoretical work is described and discussed.     

Crossover behavior of disordered interacting two-dimensional electron systems in a parallel magnetic field

The crossover behavior of disordered interacting two-dimensional electron systems in a parallel magnetic field is analyzed. Using the so-called crossover one-loop renormalization group equations for the resistance and electron-electron interaction amplitudes, experimentally observed transformation of the temperature dependence of the resistance from a reentrant (nonmonotonic) behavior in relatively weak fields to an insulating-type behavior in stronger fields is qualitatively explained. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Enhancement of nonlinear properties of superconducting films in low-frequency magnetic field

The effect of enhancement of nonlinear properties of superconducting films is found in low-frequency magnetic field. Harmonic mixing of the electromagnetic radiation is detected. These results provide an argument in support of a new approach to design the active superconducting elements. A low-frequency oscillating magnetic field directed perpendicularly to the film surface forms an unstable vortex structure in the film. The frequency multiplication is intensified in the vortex unstable state. A transition of the vortex structure into the ground state synchronized by an external resonant circuit causes the generation of the electromagnetic radiation. Main advantage of these oscillators over Josephson junctions is high power emitted into a broadband system.     

Critical magnetic field of surface superconductivity in lead

The critical superconductivity field H _c3 is measured on lead single crystals. It is shown that the temperature dependence of H _c3/H _c in the vicinity of superconducting transition temperature T _c is essentially nonlinear. Relative changes in the value of H _c3/H _c reach approximately 30%, which cannot be described by the Ginzburg-Landau theory. The experimental temperature dependences lead to the conclusion that the surface superconducting transition temperature noticeably exceeds the superconducting transition temperature in the bulk of the semiconductor. The differences in the critical temperatures and in the Ginzburg-Landau parameters for lead are estimated.     

Enhancement of superconductivity by quasiparticle tunneling

Increases of the superconducting energy gap Δ have been measured using an entirely new mechanism of enhancement. Instead of microwave or phonon irradiation, the new mechanism uses quasiparticle tunneling between two identical superconductors at voltages less than 2Δ. A decrease in the quasiparticle density accompanies the increase in Δ. This mechanism has important advantages in making quantitative comparisons with theory.     

Structural phase transition in the mixed state of superconducting films in a parallel magnetic field

A thin film of a second-kind superconductor in a magnetic field parallel to the surface of the film is considered in the London approximation. It has been shown that if bulk pinning is absent and the suppression of super-conductivity by the magnetic field is negligible, the splitting of a vortex chain in the film occurs as a structural phase transition either of the first or second order, depending on the ratio of the thickness of the film d to the penetration depth of the magnetic field λ. The ratio d/λ, and thereby the character of the transition in the vortex lattice, can be changed by varying the temperature. The corresponding critical thicknesses of films and field ranges in which this effect can be observed experimentally have been calculated.     

Effective field theory for disordered magnetic alloys

Disordered alloys of magnetic atoms of two types have been considered within the Ising model based on the calculation and analysis of the distribution function of effective fields acting on magnetic atoms. The Curie temperatures, magnetizations of two magnetic “sublattices,” threshold concentrations of magnetic atoms, and magnetic phase diagrams of alloys have been calculated.     

Resistance of thin films with edge superconductivity in strong magnetic fields

It is shown that, in an edge superconducting layer of a thin film in a magnetic field perpendicular to the film plane, phase slip centers are formed. The centers arise below the superconducting transition temperature because of the thermal fluctuations of the order parameter and lead to the suppression of superconductivity. The resistance corresponding to such fluctuations is determined, and the contribution of the Aslamazov-Larkin correction to the conductivity of a thin film in magnetic fields slightly exceeding the critical field that breaks the surface superconductivity is calculated.     

Suppression of superconductivity in disordered interacting wires

We study superconductivity suppression due to thermal fluctuations in disordered wires using the replica nonlinear sigma-model (NLsigmaM). We show that in addition to the thermal phase slips there is another type of fluctuations that result in a finite resistivity. These fluctuations are described by saddle points in NLsigmaM and cannot be treated within the Ginzburg-Landau approach. The contribution of such fluctuations to the wire resistivity is evaluated with exponential accuracy. The magnetoresistance associated with this contribution is negative.     

Two-dimensional metal in a parallel magnetic field

We have investigated the effect of an in-plane parallel magnetic field (B(axially) on two high mobility metallic-like dilute two-dimensional hole gas systems in GaAs quantum wells. The experiments reveal that, while suppressing the magnitude of the low temperature resistance drop, B(axially) does not affect E(a), the characteristic energy scale of the metallic resistance drop. The field B(c) at which the metallic-like resistance drop vanishes is dependent on both the width of the quantum well and the orientation of B(axially). It is unexpected that E(a) is unaffected by B(axially) up to B(c) despite the fact that the Zeeman energy at B(c) is roughly equal to E(a).     

Surface plasmon in a parallel magnetic field

Using a hydrodynamic model the dispersion relation for the surface plasmon is calculated in an external magnetic field parallel to the surface when the wave propagates perpendicular to the magnetic field. In the limit of zero wave vector, the results reduce to those of Chiu and Quinn who have used the dielectric constant in the local theory.     

The interplay between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in disordered ultrathin high-Tc films

A series of ultrathin films of DyBa₂Cu₃O_7−x, with properties spanning the zero-field superconductor-to-insulator transition, were prepared for the purpose of investigating the magnetic field driven superconductor-insulator transition. The resistance of these films was found to exhibit a peak whose magnitude became larger with the weakening of the superconductivity of the films. For a film just on the superconducting side of the zero-field superconductor-to-insulator transition, three successive changes in the sign of the low temperature dR/dT with increasing field were found. These have been taken as evidence of the superconducting state being successively excited, reentered, and finally exited with increasing field as the sign changes from positive to negative, to positive, and finally to negative. This unusual behavior may result from an interaction of the carriers with Cu²⁺ ions on the copper-oxygen sheets. These spins exhibit an increasing tendency to antiferromagnetic ordering as the superconductivity of the films is weakened. The presence of many grain boundaries in the films may be the reason the effect is strikingly large.     

Temperature and magnetic field dependence of superconductivity in nanoscopic metallic grains

We study pairing correlations in ultrasmall superconductor in the nanoscopic limit by means of a toy model where electrons are confined in a single, multiply degenerate energy level. We solve the model exactly to investigate the temperature and magnetic field dependence of number parity effect (dependence of ground state energy on evenness or oddness of the number of electrons). We find a different parity effect parameter to critical temperature ratio (4 rather than 3.5) which turns out to be consistent with exact solution of the BCS gap equation for our model. This suggests the equivalence between the parity effect parameter and the superconducting gap. We also find that magnetic field is suppressed as temperature increases.     

Enhancement of the electric field threshold for microwave breakdown by crossed magnetic field

The enhancement of breakdown threshold is of benefit to the high power microwave transmission. We propose a magnetic field in the transverse direction to the electric field to enhance the breakdown threshold. A theory of electric field threshold with crossed magnetic field for short pulse is developed, and verified by particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) simulations. The result shows that the crossed magnetic field can enhance the breakdown threshold significantly.     

Wigner liquid conductivity in a parallel magnetic field

It is assumed that comparatively low-mobility objects (clusters of a small number of electrons) can appear in a two-dimensional strongly correlated electronic system (Wigner liquid) against the background of mobile Fermi-type carriers. These formations can get “pinned” to inhomogeneities and play the role of additional scatterers. Clusters of two and three electrons are discussed (for a short-range order in the arrangement of electrons, as in a triangular lattice). The number of these clusters depends on both temperature and the parallel magnetic field. This results in the temperature and field dependences of the resistance and magnetization of the system. According to a simple model, resistance increases and the metal-dielectric transition occurs as the parallel magnetic field grows stronger. The model predicts a nonlinear magnetic field dependence of magnetization.