压力环境下重费米子体系的物性探索

重费米子体系是近藤晶格中的强关联电子系统,它由于电、磁等相互作用的竞争呈现出丰富的电子基态,而且由于各种相互作用的能量尺度较小,它会对外界参量(压力、掺杂、磁场)的调控比较敏感。文章论述了重费米子体系的基本性质和它在压力环境下的物性演变以及相关的量子临界现象。超导态一般会出现在量子临界点附近,文章特别以“115”超导体系为例,讲述了超导态与其他长程序共存时可能出现的纹络化结构,介绍了如何运用压力下的谱学测量(如转角比热、软点接触隧道谱)来研究压力下重费米子体系的物性特别是超导序参量的对称性。     

重费米子超导理论和材料研究进展

重费米子超导体是一类典型的强关联和非常规超导系统,超导的产生与量子临界涨落有着紧密的关系.在实际材料中,不同结构体系的重费米子超导体往往表现出非常不同的竞争序和超导性质,表明f电子的行为对材料的结构特征具有敏感依赖性.特别是最近几年的超导实验研究,表明具体材料的实际电子结构对重费米子超导的性质具有重要影响.本文将简要介...     

重费米子超导

重费米子材料作为典型的强关联电子体系,具有丰富的物理内涵。重费米子超导也因复杂的电子间相互作用而具有多种不同的超导配对机理。文章以几个典型的重费米子超导体(CeCu₂Si₂、CeMIn₅、UTe₂)为例,介绍其基本物理性质,其中重点讨论超导与反铁磁、铁磁之间密不可分的竞争/共存关系。另外,文章还讨论空间反演中心/时间反演对称性破缺对重费米子超导体序参量的影响。最后,简单介绍了几种比较特殊的竞争序诱导的重费米子超导态。     

重费米子材料中的反常物性

重费米子研究对探索强关联电子体系新奇量子现象的组织原则具有重要的意义。文章介绍了作者近年来对重费米子材料正常态反常性质的研究进展,揭示了重电子的普适温度演化行为和Fano干涉效应,为理解重费米子物理和探索非常规超导机理提供了新的思路。     

重费米子材料中的反常物性

重费米子研究对探索强关联电子体系新奇量子现象的组织原则具有重要的意义。文章介绍了作者近年来对重费米子材料正常态反常性质的研究进展,揭示了重电子的普适温度演化行为和Fano干涉效应,为理解重费米子物理和探索非常规超导机理提供了新的思路。     

重费米子超导与竞争序

与其他非常规超导系列相比, 重费米子超导体往往具有丰富多样的竞争序, 超导与各种竞争序相伴而生, 电子配对与反铁磁涨落、铁磁涨落、价态涨落、电四极矩涨落等量子临界涨落密切相关, 扩充了非常规超导的研究内容. 重费米子材料中的f电子往往同时参与超导与各种竞争序的形成, 表现出局域与巡游的二重性. 重费米子二流体理论为理解重费米子超导与竞争序的关系提供了新的思路.     

自旋阻挫重费米子体系中的量子相变

近藤效应和RKKY交换相互作用的竞争决定了多数重费米子化合物的基态性质。通过压力、磁场等非热力学参量调控,该类材料能够在绝对零温附近实现费米液体和磁有序相之间的连续转变,提供了研究量子相变的理想平台。另一方面,在绝缘的量子磁体中,自旋阻挫引起的量子涨落抑制低温下长程磁有序的发生,导致自旋液体相等新奇物态的产生。在近藤晶格中引入自旋阻挫将给重费米子材料提供一个新的调控维度,深刻改变该类材料的量子临界相图,是重费米子材料领域的一个新颖研究方向。文章首先介绍阻挫重费米子体系的研究背景,然后针对CePdAl的物性展开讨论,探讨阻挫对重费米子材料量子临界物性的影响以及量子临界相的普适性。     

重费米子超导体中的超声Plasmon模

将重费米子超导体看成由s电子和f电子组成的系统,得到了一种可能的低能元激发模——超声Plasmon。证明在一定条件下,电子间通过交换这种低能集体元激发模,除了可导致s电子形成Cooper对外,同时还可导致s-f电子间混合对的形成。对系统的介电函数作了RPA近似计算,得到了超导转变温度的表达式,并讨论了混合对效应。另外,通过对比热反常的分析,讨论了在重费米子超导体中存在超声Plasmon模的可能性。     

重费米子超导体UPd2Al3与常规超导体Nb之间波函数的量子相干效应

超导体的电子波函数对称性一直是引人注目的重要问题。本研究了波函数为Ｐ态或ｄ态的“高温”重费米子超导体ＵＰｄ２Ａｌ３（Ｔｃ￣２Ｋ）与Ｓ态的常规超导体Ｎｂ之间的量子相干效应。精确测量表明，在一个包括由上述两种超导体组成的Ｊｏｓｅｐｈｓｏｎ结的超导环中，有持续电流产生，且环中磁通是量子化的，每一个磁通量大小为（０．９９±０．０３）ｈ／２ｅ，明确无误的表明这一复合系统中两种对称性不同的波函数位相相干。此     

Spinfluctuations versus phonons: The case of Heavy-Fermion superconductivity

Superconductivity of Heavy-Fermions, with an emphasis on hexagonal UPt₃, is investigated microscopically on the basis of the LNCA-approximation for strongly correlated electrons in a Kondo lattice and of Eliashberg theory for anisotropic singlet and triplet superconducting order. The effective interaction kernel incorporates exchange of spin fluctuations carried by strongly renormalized particle-hole excitations as well as exchange of phonons generated by the breathing mechanism. Particular care is taken to include realistic anisotropies in band structure and couplings and to expand interaction kernel and order parameter in appropriate Fermi surface harmonics. Separate interactions and corresponding gap equations are used for pseudo-spin-singlet and -triplet channel, with a restriction to the case of weak spin-orbit coupling. Our main results include a detailed study of phonon- and spin-fluctuation mechanisms as a possible source for superconductivity and, in combination, their mutual influence and competition. Furthermore, the questions regarding singlet or triplet order, conventional or unconventional symmetry, order parameter zeros and phase transitions between different superconducting states are addressed. We propose a possible scenario of Heavy-Fermion superconductivity.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAslPOl_yFy

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides （chalcogenides） not only trig- gers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d- antiferromagnetic （AFM） ordering below 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically corelated heavy-fermion （HF） metal with Kondo scale TK 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity （SC）. In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsOl_yFy （y = 0 and 0.05）. This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, Xcl -- 0.4 and Xc2 - 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce3＋ moment at Xc3 - 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of Xcl. We continue to investigate CeFeAsl-xPxO0.95Fo.os. With the separation of xcl and xc3, this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0〈 x 〈 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F- doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAs_(1-x)P_xO_(1-y)F_y

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides (chalcogenides) not only triggers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d-antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below ～ 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below ～ 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically correlated heavy-fermion (HF) metal with Kondo scale T K ～ 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity (SC). In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsO 1-y F y (y = 0 and 0.05). This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, x c1 0.4 and x c2 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce 3+ moment at x c3 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of x c1 . We continue to investigate CeFeAs 1-x P x O 0.95 F 0.05 . With the separation of x c1 and x c3 , this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0≤ x ≤ 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Quantum critical behavior in an antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion Kondo lattice system(Ce_(1-x)La_x)_2Ir_3Ge_5

The measurements on temperature dependences of magnetic susceptibility χ(T), specific heat C(T), and electrical resistivity ρ(T) were carried out for the antiferromagnetic(AFM)(Ce_(1-x)La_x)_2Ir_3Ge_5(0 ≤ x ≤ 0.66) system. It was found that the Neel temperature TNdecreases with increasing La content x, and reaches 0 K near a critical content xcr =0.6. A new phase diagram was constructed based on these measurements. A non-Fermi liquid behavior in ρ(T) and a log T relationship in C(T) were found in the samples near xcr, indicating them to be near an AFM quantum critical point(QCP) with strong spin fluctuation. Our finding indicates that(Ce_(1-x)La_x)_2Ir_3Ge_5 may be a new platform to search for unconventional superconductivity.     

Superconducting properties of barium in three phases under high pressure from first principles

Electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in the three high-pressure phases of Ba is investigated using a pseudopotential plane-wave method based on density functional perturbation theory. The calculated values of superconducting critical temperature T c of Ba-I and Ba-II under pressure are consistent well with the trends observed experimentally. Moreover, Ba-V is found to be superconducting with a maximum T c exceeding 7.8 K at 45 GPa. With the increase of pressure, the values of T c increase in Ba I and Ba-II but the value of T c decreases in Ba-V. For Ba-I at pressures below 2 GPa, the increases of logarithmic average frequency ω log and electron-phonon coupling parameters λ both contribute to the enhancement of T c . For all the three phases at pressures above 2 GPa, T c is found to be primarily determined by λ . Further investigation reveals that for all the three phases, the change in λ with pressure can be explained mainly by change in the phonon frequency. Thus for Ba-II and Ba-V, although they exhibit completely different superconducting behaviors, their superconductivities have the same origin; the pressure dependence of T c is determined finally by the pressure dependence of phonon frequency.     

Applications of the conformal transformation method in studies of composed superconducting systems

A framework for analytical studies of superconducting systems is presented and illustrated. The formalism, based on the conformal transformation of momentum space, allows one to study the effects of both the dispersion relation and the structure of the pairing interaction in two-dimensional anisotropic high-T _c superconductors. In this method, the number of employed degrees of freedom coincides with the dimension of the momentum space, which is different compared to that in the standard Van Hove scenario with a single degree of freedom. A new function, the kernel of the density of states, is defined and its relation to the standard density of states is explained. The versatility of the method is illustrated by analyzing coexistence and competition between spin-singlet and spin-triplet order parameters in superconducting systems with a tight-binding-type dispersion relation and an anisotropic pairing potential. Phase diagrams of stable superconducting states in the coordinates η (the ratio of hopping parameters) and n (the carrier concentration) are presented and discussed. Moreover, the role of attractive and repulsive on-site interactions for the stability of the s-wave order parameter is explained.     

Coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagentic order in Er2O2Bi with anti-ThCr2Si2 structure

We investigated the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in the compound Er₂O₂Bi with anti-ThCr₂Si₂-type structure through resistivity, magnetization, specific heat measurements and first-principle calculations. The superconducting transition temperature T_c of 1.23 K and antiferromagnetic transition temperature TN of 3 K are observed in the sample with the best nominal composition. The superconducting upper critical field H_c2(0) and electron-phonon coupling constant λ_e−ph in Er₂O₂Bi are similar to those in the previously reported non-magnetic superconductor Y2O2Bi with the same structure, indicating that the superconductivity in Er₂O₂Bi may have the same origin as in Y₂O₂Bi. The first-principle calculations of Er₂O₂Bi show that the Fermi surface is mainly composed of the Bi 6p orbitals both in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic state, implying minor effect of the 4f electrons on the Fermi surface. Besides, upon increasing the oxygen incorporation in Er₂O_xBi, Tc increases from 1 to 1.23 K and T_N decreases slightly from 3 K to 2.96 K, revealing that superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order may compete with each other. The Hall effect measurements indicate that hole-type carrier density indeed increases with increasing oxygen content, which may account for the variations of T_c and T_N with different oxygen content.     

Uniaxial stress effect on quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice CeCo2Ga8

Quantum critical phenomena in the quasi-one-dimensional limit remain an open issue. We report the uniaxial stress effect on the quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ by electric transport and AC heat capacity measurements. CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ is speculated to sit in close vicinity but on the quantum-disordered side of a quantum critical point. Upon compressing the ${c}$ axis, parallel to the Ce-Ce chain, the onset of coherent Kondo effect is enhanced. In contrast, the electronic specific heat diverges more rapidly at low temperature when the intra-chain distance is elongated by compressions along ${a}$ or ${b}$ axis. These results suggest that a tensile intra-chain strain ($\varepsilon_c >0$) pushes CeCo$_2$Ga$_8$ closer to the quantum critical point, while a compressive intra-chain strain ($\varepsilon_c<0$) likely causes departure. Our work provides a rare paradigm of manipulation near a quantum critical point in a quasi-1D Kondo lattice by uniaxial stress, and paves the way for further investigations on the unique feature of quantum criticality in the quasi-1D limit.     

Superconductor-normal metal quantum phase transition in dissipative and non-equilibrium systems

Abstract

In physical systems, coupling to the environment gives rise to dissipation and decoherence. For nanoscopic materials, this may be a determining factor of their physical behaviour. However, even for macroscopic many-body systems, if the strength of this coupling is sufficiently strong, their ground-state properties and phase diagram may be severely modified. Also dissipation is essential to allow a system in the presence of a time-dependent perturbation to attain a steady, time-independent state. In this case, the non-equilibrium phase diagram depends on the intensity of the perturbation and on the strength of the coupling of the system to the outside world. In this paper, we investigate the effects of both dissipation and time-dependent external sources in the phase diagram of a many-body system at zero and finite temperatures. For concreteness, we consider the specific case of a superconducting layer under the action of an electric field and coupled to a metallic substrate. The former arises from a time dependent vector potential minimally coupled to the electrons in the layer. We introduce a Keldysh approach that allows to obtain the time dependence of the superconducting order parameter in an adiabatic regime. We study the phase diagram of this system as a function of the electric field, the coupling to the metallic substrate and temperature.