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.     

Critical current density of a YNi2B2C superconductor in the two-band Ginzburg-Landau model

An analytical formula is obtained for the temperature dependence of the critical current density of a two-band superconductor. In deriving the formula, linearized equations of the two-band Ginzburg-Landau theory are used and the results are compared with the experimental data for YNi₂B₂C.     

Unconventional anisotropic s-wave superconducting gaps of the LiFeAs iron-pnictide superconductor

We have performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on Fe-based superconductor LiFeAs (T(c)=18 K). We reveal multiple nodeless superconducting (SC) gaps with 2Δ/k(B)T(c) ratios varying from 2.8 to 6.4, depending on the Fermi surface (FS). We also succeeded in directly observing a gap anisotropy along the FS with magnitude up to ~30%. The anisotropy is fourfold symmetric with an antiphase between the hole and electron FSs, suggesting complex anisotropic interactions for the SC pairing. The observed momentum dependence of the SC gap offers an excellent opportunity to investigate the underlying pairing mechanism.     

Evidence for nodal quasiparticles in the nonmagnetic superconductor YNi2B2C via field-angle-dependent heat capacity

Field-angle dependent heat capacity of the nonmagnetic borocarbide superconductor YNi2B2C reveals a clear fourfold oscillation, the first observation of its kind. The observed angular variations were analyzed as a function of magnetic field angle, field-intensity, and temperature to provide its origin. The quantitative agreement between experiment and theory strongly suggests that we are directly observing nodal quasiparticles generated along <100> by the Doppler effect. The results demonstrate that field-angle heat capacity can be a powerful tool in probing the momentum-space gap structure in unconventional superconductors such as high T(c) cuprates, heavy-fermion superconductors, etc.     

de Haas-van Alphen effect in the superconducting state of YNi2B2C

To examine the Fermi surfaces of the recently discovered quaternery compounds RENi₂B₂C measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect were made on YNi₂B₂C single crystals in magnetic fields up to 12 T. ForBc we observe two dHvA frequenciesF ₁=0.499 kT andF ₂=6.933 kT which corresponds to approximately 1,5% and 21% of the Brillouin zone cross section area. Both frequencies could be observed deep in the vortex state of the type-II superconductor, the lower dHvA frequency down to 2 T corresponding to roughly 1/5 of the upper critical fieldB _c2 which was found to be 10.6 T in resistivity measurements. The field dependent quasiparticle damping in the superconducting state is very weak, since the amplitude of the dHvA oscillations seems to be unaffected by the phase transition atB _c2.     

Anisotropy of the superconducting gap of the borocarbide superconductor YNi2B2C with ultrasonic attenuation

The ultrasonic attenuation alpha of the highly anisotropic s-wave superconductor YNi2B2C has been measured for all the symmetrically independent elastic modes to explore the location of the zero superconducting gap region on the Fermi surface. The attenuation of the longitudinal mode shows a pronounced anisotropy in the superconducting state: While alpha shows a thermally activated behavior along [110] and [001] directions, it shows T-linear dependence along [100]. These results together with those for the transverse modes demonstrate the presence of point nodes or zero-gap regions along [100] and [010] directions. This is a clear demonstration of ultrasonic attenuation as a powerful probe for the structure of the anisotropic superconducting gap.     

Imaging of a vortex lattice transition in YNi2B2C by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

The vortex lattices in YNi2B2C under the magnetic fields H up to 3 T applied along both the a and the c axes have been studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy at 4.2 K. The vortex lattice transition has been found to occur in different manners for H parallela and H parallelc; in H parallela a slightly distorted hexagonal vortex lattice has been found to transform to a nearly square one above 1.0 T with increasing H, while in H parallelc the transition occurs at a much lower field around 0.1 T. The unconventional steep increase of the quasiparticle density of states outside the vortex core has also been found well below H(c2).     

Vortex lattice transitions in YNi2B2C

We have performed extensive small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) diffraction studies of the vortex lattice in single crystal YNi₂B₂C for B‖c. High-resolution SANS, combined with a field-oscillation vortex lattice preparation technique, allows us to separate Bragg scattered intensities from two orthogonal domains and accurately determine the unit cell angle, β. The data suggest that upon increasing field there is a finite transition width where both low- and high-field distorted hexagonal vortex lattice phases, mutually rotated by 45°, coexist. The smooth variation of diffracted intensity from each phase through the transition corresponds to a redistribution of populations between the two types of domains.     

Observation of vortex coalescence in the anisotropic spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4

We present direct imaging of magnetic flux structures over the ab face of the anisotropic, spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4 using a scanning microSQUID force microscope. Individual vortices with a single flux quantum were observed at low magnetic fields applied along the out-of-pane direction. At intermediate fields, the direct imaging revealed coalescing of vortices and the formation of flux domains. Our observations imply the existence of a mechanism in this material for bringing vortices together overcoming the conventional repulsive vortex-vortex interaction.     

Magnetic study of the superconducting phase YNi2B2C

Il Nuovo Cimento D - We report the synthesis procedure and the chemical-physical characterization of the YNi2B2C superconductor. From magnetic measurements we show that this material is a type-II...     

Properties of anisotropic s-wave superconductivity in MgB2

Earlier this year a new type of high-temperature superconductivity has been reported in MgB₂ with a transition temperature of 39 K. In a recent paper we proposed a simple BCS model with an anisotropic s-wave order parameter which accounts for the available thermodynamic and scanning tunneling microscopy data obtained from polycrystalline palets of MgB₂. In this work, we further investigate the physical consequences of this theory by calculating the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity, the nuclear spin relaxation rate, and the angular dependence of the upper critical field.     

Suppression of superconductivity in YNi2B2C at the atomic disordering

The behavior of the electrical resistivity ρ(T), the superconducting transition temperature T _c , and the upper critical field H _c2(T) of a polycrystalline sample of YNi₂B₂C irradiated by thermal neutrons with the subsequent high-temperature isochronous annealing in the temperature interval T _ann = 100–1000°C has been studied. It has been found that the irradiation of YNi₂B₂C with a fluence of 10¹⁹cm^?2 leads to the suppression of the superconductivity. The final disordered state is reversible; i.e., the initial ρ(T), T _c , and H _c2(T) values are almost completely recovered upon annealing at up to T _ann = 1000°C. The quadratic dependence ρ(T) = ρ₀ + a ₂ T ² is observed for the sample in the superconducting state (T _c = 5.5?14.5 K). The coefficient a ₂ (proportional to the square of the electron mass m*) hardly changes. The form of the dependence of T _c on ρ₀ can be interpreted as the suppression of the two superconducting gaps, Δ₁ and Δ₂ (Δ₁ ～ 2Δ₂). The degradation rate of Δ₁ is about three times higher than that of Δ₂. The dependences dH _c2/dT on ρ₀ and T _c may be described by the relations for a superconductor in the intermediate limit (the coherence length ζ₀ is on the order of the electron mean free path l _tr) under the assumption of a nearly constant electron density of states on the Fermi level N(E _F). The observed behavior of T _c obviously does not agree with the widespread opinion about the purely electron-phonon mechanism of superconductivity in the compounds of this type supposing the anomalous type of superconducting pairing.     

TEM Characterisation of YNi2B2C Thin Film Microstructure

A thin film of the superconductor YNi₂B₂C deposited on an MgO(001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Plan-view TEM analyses show that the YNi₂B₂C film consists of isolated rectangular grains distributed within a second phase. This phase was identified as the monoclinic phase Y₂Ni₁₅B₆ with lattice parameters a=1.422 nm,b=1.067 nm,c=0.958 nm and β=95°. Additionally, the cubic phase Y₂O₃ with lattice constant a=1.06 nm was identified within the film. PACS 74.70.Dd; 74.78.Db; 68.37.Lp; 68.55.-a     

Helical instability of a straight Abrikosov vortex in an anisotropic superconductor

Because of attraction of the parallel currents forming an Abrikosov vortex, the vortex energy per unit length decreases, under bending of the vortex, by a quantity proportional to the square of the curvature. Solving the London equation in an approximation allowing for this effect makes it possible to calculate the energy of an Abrikosov vortex in the form of a helix whose length and pitch are much larger than the correlation length, whose curvature is small compared to the reciprocal London length, and whose slope in relation to an axis coinciding with the direction in which the vortex energy is the highest is also small. When the anisotropy is large, which is characteristic of high-T _c superconductors, the energy of such an Abrikosov vortex is lower than that of a straight Abrikosov vortex. Certain consequences of the fact that the Abrikosov vortices in a high-T _c superconductor are helical are discussed. Among these is a phase transition that breaks the symmetry between Abrikosov vortices shaped like right-and left-hand helixes in relation to the magnetic field. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1869–1878 (May 1997)     

Low energy quasiparticle excitation in the vortex state of borocarbide superconductor yni2b2c

We measured the heat capacity C(p) and microwave surface impedance Z(s) in the vortex state of YNi2B2C. In contrast to conventional s-wave superconductors, C(p) shows a square root[H] dependence. This square root[H] dependence persists even after the introduction of the columnar defects which change the electronic structure of the vortex core regime and destroy the regular vortex lattice. On the other hand, flux flow resistivity is nearly proportional to H. These results indicate that the vortex state of YNi2B2C is fundamentally different from the conventional s-wave counterparts, in that the delocalized quasiparticle states around the vortex core are important, similar to d-wave superconductors.