Gap function with point nodes in borocarbide superconductor YNi2B2C

To determine the superconducting gap function of YNi2B2C, the c-axis thermal conductivity kappa(zz) was measured in H rotated in various directions. The angular variation of kappa(zz) in H rotated within the ab plane shows a peculiar fourfold oscillation with narrow cusps. The amplitude of this fourfold oscillation becomes very small when H is rotated conically around the c axis with a tilt angle of 45 degrees. These results provide the first compelling evidence that the gap function has point nodes located along the a and b axes. This unprecedented gap structure challenges the current view on the pairing mechanism.     

Interband proximity effect and nodes of superconducting gap in Sr2RuO4

The power-law temperature dependences of the specific heat, the nuclear relaxation rate, and the thermal conductivity suggest the presence of line nodes in the superconducting gap of Sr2RuO4. These recent experimental observations contradict the scenario of a nodeless (k(x)+ik(y))-type superconducting order parameter. We propose that interaction of superconducting order parameters on different sheets of the Fermi surface is a key to understanding the above discrepancy. A full gap exists in the active band, which drives the superconducting instability, while line nodes develop in passive bands by the interband proximity effect.     

Superconducting gap structure of spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 studied by thermal conductivity

To clarify the superconducting gap structure of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4, the in-plane thermal conductivity has been measured as a function of relative orientations of the thermal flow, the crystal axes, and a magnetic field rotating within the 2D RuO2 planes. The in-plane variation of the thermal conductivity is incompatible with any model with line nodes vertical to the 2D planes and indicates the existence of horizontal nodes. These results place strong constraints on models that attempt to explain the mechanism of the triplet superconductivity.     

Theory of the transition at 0.2 K in Ni-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

A theory is put forward that the electronic phase transition at 0.2 K in Ni-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 is a result of the formation of a spin density wave in the system of Ni impurities. The driving force for the transition is the exchange interaction between the impurity spins and the spins of the conduction electrons. This creates a small gap at two of the four nodes of the superconducting gap. The effect is to reduce the thermal conductivity by a factor of 2, as observed.     

Line nodes in the superconducting gap function of noncentrosymmetric CePt3Si

The superconducting gap structure of recently discovered heavy fermion CePt(3)Si without spatial inversion symmetry was investigated by thermal transport measurements down to 40 mK. In zero field a residual T-linear term was clearly resolved as T --> 0, with a magnitude in good agreement with the value expected for a residual normal fluid with a nodal gap structure, together with a T2 dependence at high temperatures. With an applied magnetic field, the thermal conductivity grows rapidly, in dramatic contrast to fully gapped superconductors, and exhibits one-parameter scaling with T/sqrt[H]. These results place an important constraint on the order parameter symmetry; that is, CePt(3)Si is most likely to have line nodes.     

Hybrid gap structure of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn5

The thermal conductivity kappa of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn5 was measured as a function of temperature down to T(c)/8, for current directions parallel (J parallel c) and perpendicular (J parallel a) to the tetragonal c axis. For J parallel a, a sizable residual linear term kappa(0)/T is observed, as previously, which confirms the presence of line nodes in the superconducting gap. For J parallel c, on the other hand, kappa/T-->0 as T-->0. The resulting precipitous decline in the anisotropy ratio kappa(c)/kappa(a) at low temperature rules out a gap structure with line nodes running along the c axis, such as the d-wave state favored for CeCoIn5, and instead points to a hybrid gap of E(g) symmetry.     

Angular position of nodes in the superconducting gap of quasi-2D heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5

The thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D planes. A clear fourfold symmetry of the thermal conductivity which is characteristic of a superconducting gap with nodes along the ( +/- pi,+/- pi) directions is resolved. The thermal conductivity measurement also reveals a first-order transition at H(c2), indicating a Pauli limited superconducting state. These results indicate that the symmetry most likely belongs to d(x(2)-y(2)), implying that the anisotropic antiferromagnetic fluctuation is relevant to the superconductivity.     

Multiple superconducting phases in new heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12

The superconducting gap structure of recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12 was investigated by using thermal transport measurements in magnetic field rotated relative to the crystal axes. We demonstrate that a novel change in the symmetry of the superconducting gap function occurs deep inside the superconducting state, giving a clear indication of the presence of two distinct superconducting phases with twofold and fourfold symmetries. We infer that the gap functions in both phases have a point node singularity, in contrast to the familiar line node singularity observed in almost all unconventional superconductors.     

Unconventional superconductivity in CeIrIn5 and CeCoIn5: specific heat and thermal conductivity studies

Low temperature specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements on the ambient pressure heavy fermion superconductors CeIrIn5 and CeCoIn5 reveal power law temperature dependences of these quantities below T(c). The low temperature specific heat in both CeIrIn5 and CeCoIn5 includes T2 terms, consistent with the presence of nodes in the superconducting energy gap. The thermal conductivity data present a T-linear term consistent with the universal limit (CeIrIn5), and a low temperature T3 variation in the clean limit (CeCoIn5), also in accord with prediction for an unconventional superconductor with lines of nodes.     

Anisotropy of magnetothermal conductivity in Sr2RuO4

The dependence of in-plane and interplane thermal conductivities of Sr2RuO4 on temperature, as well as magnetic field strength and orientation, is reported. We found no notable anisotropy in the thermal conductivity for the magnetic field rotation parallel to the conducting plane in the whole range of experimental temperatures and fields, except in the vicinity of the upper critical field H(c2), where the anisotropy of the H(c2) itself plays a dominant role. This finding imposes strong constraints on the possible models of superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 and supports the existence of a superconducting gap with a line of nodes running orthogonal to the Fermi surface cylinder.     

Evidence for line nodes in the superconducting energy gap of noncentrosymmetric CePt3Si from magnetic penetration depth measurements

We report measurements of the magnetic penetration depth lambda(T) in high-quality CePt3Si samples down to 0.049 K. We observe a linear temperature dependence below T approximately equal to 0.16Tc, which is interpreted as evidence for line nodes in the energy gap of the low-temperature phase of this material. A kink in lambda(T) at about 0.53 K may be associated with the second superconducting transition recently reported. The results are discussed in terms of the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.     

Zeros of the order parameter in the superconducting phase of the UGe2 band ferromagnet

Under the assumption of a strong spin-orbital interaction, two forms of the order parameter are obtained for two superconducting phases of the ferromagnetic UGe₂ that are allowed by the crystal symmetry. For each of the two phases, symmetry nodes in the gap of Fermi excitations are found, and the consequences of the existence of nodes, which can be used for experimental phase identification, are discussed.     

Thermal conductivity evidence for a dx2-y2 pairing symmetry in the heavy-fermion CeIrIn5 superconductor

The phase diagram of the quasi-2D Ce(Ir,Rh)In5 system contains two distinct superconducting domes. By the thermal transport measurements in rotating magnetic fields H, we pinned down the superconducting gap structure of CeIrIn5 in the second dome, located distant from the first dome in proximity to an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point. Clear fourfold oscillation was observed when H is rotated within the ab plane, while no oscillation was observed within the bc plane. In sharp contrast to previous reports, our results are most consistent with dx2-y2 symmetry, implying that the superconductivity in the second phase is also mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations.     

准一维Cr基超导体RbCr3As3的超导能隙

RbCr₃As₃是具有[（Cr₃As₃）^-]_∞线性链的准一维超导体,超导转变温度约为6.6 K.对RbCr₃As₃单晶进行了电输运和极低温热输运性质的研究.低温下,拟合了RbCr₃As₃正常态电阻率随温度的变化,发现其满足费米液体行为.通过拟合超导转变温度随磁场的关系,得到RbCr₃As₃单晶的上临界场约为25.6 T.对RbCr₃As₃进行了零场下的极低温热导率测量,得到其剩余线性项为7.5 μW·K^-2·cm^-1,占正常态热导率值的24%.测量不同磁场下RbCr₃As₃的热导率,发现与单带s波超导体相比较,RbCr₃As₃剩余线性项随磁场增加相对较快.这些结果表明RbCr₃As₃单晶很可能是有节点的非常规超导体.     

London theory for superconducting phase transitions in external magnetic fields: application to UPt3

For multicomponent superconductors, it is known that the presence of symmetry breaking fields can lead to multiple superconducting phase transitions. Motivated by recent small angle neutron scattering experiments on the vortex state of UPt3, the London theory in the vicinity of such phase transitions is determined. It is found that the form of this London theory is in general quite different than that for conventional superconductors. This is due to the existence of a diverging correlation length associated with these phase transitions. One striking consequence is that nontrivial vortex lattices exist arbitrarily close to H(c1). Applications to UPt3, CeIn3, U(1-x)Th(x)Be(13), electron doped cuprate superconductors, Sr(2)RuO(4), and MgCNi(3) are discussed.     

Thermal conductivity in near-nodal superconductors

The universal behavior of thermal conductivity at low temperatures is usually taken as the signature of gap nodes in superconductors. Here we show that in near-nodal superconductors the thermal conductivity obeys a two-parameter scaling law, and can develop super-universal behavior if the temperature is about half the gap minimum. However, when the temperature is fixed at about one quarter of the gap minimum, the thermal conductivity can develop a dip versus the scattering rate, which is in excellent agreement with the behavior of the experimental thermal conductivity in Sr2RuO_4. Our theory is useful to correctly analyze the thermal conductivity in any near-nodal superconductor.     

Multiple superconducting phases in heavy fermion compounds PrOs4Sb12 and CeCoIn5

In recently discovered heavy fermion compounds, quasi-two-dimensional CeCoIn₅ and skutterudite PrOs₄Sb₁₂, multiple superconducting phases with different symmetries manifest themselves belowT _c. The angle-resolved magnetothermal transport measurements revealed that in PrOs₄Sb₁₂ a novel change in the symmetry of the superconducting gap function occurs deep inside the superconducting state. The ultrasound velocity measurements revealed that in CeCoIn5 the Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinikov (FFLO) phase, in which the order parameter is spatially modulated and has planar nodes aligned perpendicular to the vortices, appears at low temperature and high field. These results open up a new realm for the study of the superconductivity with multiple phases.     

Theory of equilibrium flux lattice in UPt3 under magnetic field parallel to hexagonal crystal axis

We investigate Abrikosov lattice structures in the unconventional superconductor UPt (3) under magnetic field parallel to the hexagonal crystal axis. Only the two-dimensional E2 superconducting state among the many other states of different symmetry is compatible with the recent observation [A. Huxley et al., Nature (London) 406, 160 (2000)] of the flux lattice in the A phase misaligned with crystallographic directions. It is shown that the inequality of the London penetration depths in the basal plane directions resulting from the superposition of hexagonal crystal and superconducting state anisotropies leads for E2 to a slightly distorted triangular flux lattice.     

The emergence of bound states in a superconducting gap at the topological insulator edge

We consider the edge of a superconducting topological insulator with the impurity in the presence of the Zeeman field. We analytically prove that in the trivial phase two Andreev bound states (ABSs) arise with energies moving from the superconducting gap edges to zero forming two Majorana-like bound states, as the impurity strength varies from 0 to ±2. When the Zeeman field is locally perturbed, ABSs arise both in the trivial and topological phases, but in the topological phase ABSs with energy near the gap edges cannot transform into Majorana bound states and vice versa.     

Phase transitions along and off the yrast line

The characteristics of deformed nuclei along and off the yrast line are investigated using a model based on the cranked temperature-dependent (or thermal) Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation. The behaviour of free energies indicates that phase transitions exist even in a finite nuclear system. Besides the superconducting phase and the normal phase, there appears a gapless superconducting phase in the transient region between the two phases. A new type of phase is predicted to occur in the high-energy and low-spin region with the spontaneous breakdown of the three-dimensional rotation symmetry, and characterized by the “bidirectional alignment of spins”. In addition three different types of backbending are also predicted.