First-order superconducting phase transition in CeCoIn5

The superconducting phase transition in heavy fermion CeCoIn5 (T(c)=2.3 K in zero field) becomes first order when the magnetic field H parallel [001] is greater than 4.7 T, and the transition temperature is below T0 approximately 0.31T(c). The change from second order at lower fields is reflected in strong sharpening of both specific heat and thermal expansion anomalies associated with the phase transition, a strong magnetocaloric effect, and a steplike change in the sample volume. This effect is due to Pauli limiting in a type-II superconductor, and was predicted theoretically in the mid-1960s.     

Quantum Nernst effect

It is theoretically predicted that the Nernst coefficient is strongly suppressed and the thermal conductance is quantized in the quantum Hall regime of the two-dimensional electron gas. The Nernst effect is the induction of a thermomagnetic electromotive force in the y-direction under a temperature bias in the x-direction and a magnetic field in the z-direction. The quantum nature of the Nernst effect is analyzed with the use of a circulating edge current and is demonstrated numerically. The present system is a physical realization of the non-equilibrium steady state.     

Giant Nernst effect in the pseudogap phase of high Tc superconductors

We have investigated theoretically the Nernst effect in unconventional (d-wave) charge and spin density waves (UDW). In the presence of magnetic field, Landau levels are formed, and the gapless behaviour of the low energy excitations change into gapped behaviour. When additional electric field is applied, the quasiparticles drift with a velocity of E × B/B², and carry entropy. From this, the Nernst coefficient can be calculated using the Kelvin relation. The present results account very nicely for the measured Nernst signal in the pseudogap phase of high T_c superconductor La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ and Bi₂Sr_2−yLa_yCuO₆. This indicates that the large Nernst effect is a clear signiture of UDW.     

Giant Nernst effect and bipolarity in the quasi-one-dimensional metal Li0.9Mo6O17

The Nernst coefficient for the quasi-one-dimensional metal, Li{0.9}Mo{6}O{17}, is found to be among the largest known for metals (ν?500 μV/KT at T～20 K), and is enhanced in a broad range of temperature by orders of magnitude over the value expected from Boltzmann theory for carrier diffusion. A comparatively small Seebeck coefficient implies that Li{0.9}Mo{6}O{17} is bipolar with large, partial Seebeck coefficients of opposite sign. A very large thermomagnetic figure of merit, ZT～0.5, is found at high field in the range T≈35-50 K.     

Superconductivity and quantum criticality in CeCoIn5

Electrical resistivity measurements on a single crystal of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 at pressures to 4.2 GPa reveal a strong crossover in transport properties near P(*) approximately 1.6 GPa, where T(c) is a maximum. The temperature-pressure phase diagram constructed from these data provides a natural connection to cuprate physics, including the possible existence of a pseudogap.     

Giant Nernst effect and lock-in currents at magic angles in (TMTSF)2PF6

We have measured the thermoelectric signal along the a axis in (TMTSF)2PF6 at 10 kbar as a function of the orientation of the applied magnetic field. Resonantlike Nernst signals were found with a dramatic sign change as the field was rotated through the "Lebed magic angles." The sign change indicates that the electrical current is "locked in" to the magic angle (interchain) directions for field alignment close to, but on either side of, the magic angles. The amplitude of signals near these angles is many orders of magnitude larger than expected from conventional Boltzmann transport theory.     

Possible Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconducting state in CeCoIn5

We report specific heat measurements of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 in the vicinity of the superconducting critical field H(c2), with magnetic fields in the [110], [100], and [001] directions, and at temperatures down to 50 mK. The superconducting phase transition changes from second to first order for fields above 10 T for H parallel [110] and H parallel [100]. In the same range of magnetic fields, we observe a second specific heat anomaly within the superconducting state. We interpret this anomaly as a signature of a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) inhomogeneous superconducting state. We obtain similar results for H parallel [001], with the FFLO state occupying a smaller part of the phase diagram.     

Field-induced quantum critical point in CeCoIn5

The resistivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 was measured as a function of temperature, down to 25 mK and in magnetic fields of up to 16 T applied perpendicular to the basal plane. With increasing field, we observe a suppression of the non-Fermi liquid behavior, rho approximately T, and the development of a Fermi liquid state, with its characteristic rho=rho(0)+AT2 dependence. The field dependence of the T2 coefficient shows critical behavior with an exponent of 1.37. This is evidence for a field-induced quantum critical point (QCP), occurring at a critical field which coincides, within experimental accuracy, with the superconducting critical field H(c2). We discuss the relation of this field-tuned QCP to a change in the magnetic state, seen as a change in magnetoresistance from positive to negative, at a crossover line that has a common border with the superconducting region below approximately 1 K.     

Probing the quantum critical behavior of CeCoIn5 via Hall effect measurements

We present highly sensitive Hall effect measurements of the heavy fermion compound CeCoIn5 down to temperatures of 55 mK. A pronounced dip in the differential Hall coefficient | partial differential rho(xy)/ partial differential H| at low temperature and above the upper critical field of superconductivity, H(c2), is attributed to critical spin fluctuations associated with the departure from Landau Fermi liquid behavior. This identification is strongly supported by a systematic suppression of this feature at elevated pressures. The resulting crossover line in the field-temperature phase diagram favors a field induced quantum critical point at mu(0)H(qc) approximately 4.1 T below H(c2)(T=0) suggesting related, yet separate, critical fields.     

Exploring the fragile antiferromagnetic superconducting phase in CeCoIn5

CeCoIn5 is a heavy fermion type-II superconductor showing clear signs of Pauli-limited superconductivity. A variety of measurements give evidence for a transition at high magnetic fields inside the superconducting state, when the field is applied either parallel to or perpendicular to the c axis. When the field is perpendicular to the c axis, antiferromagnetic order develops on the high-field side of the transition. This order remains as the field is rotated out of the basal plane, but the associated moment eventually disappears above 17°, indicating that anomalies seen with the field parallel to the c axis are not related to this magnetic order. We discuss the implications of this finding.     

Spin resonance in the d-wave superconductor CeCoIn5

Neutron scattering is used to probe antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in the d-wave heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 (T_(c)=2.3 K). Superconductivity develops from a state with slow (variant Planck's over 2piGamma=0.3+/-0.15 meV) commensurate [Q_(0)=(1/2,1/2,1/2)] antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and nearly isotropic spin correlations. The characteristic wave vector in CeCoIn5 is the same as CeIn3 but differs from the incommensurate wave vector measured in antiferromagnetically ordered CeRhIn5. A sharp spin resonance (variant Planck's over 2piGamma<0.07 meV) at variant Planck's over 2piomega=0.60+/-0.03 meV develops in the superconducting state removing spectral weight from low-energy transfers. The presence of a resonance peak is indicative of strong coupling between f-electron magnetism and superconductivity and consistent with a d-wave gap order parameter satisfying Delta(q+Q0)=-Delta(q).     

Possible Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov inhomogeneous superconducting state in CeCoIn5

We present specific heat and thermal conductivity of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 in the vicinity of the superconducting critical fieldH _c2, measured with magnetic field in the plane of this quasi-2D compound and at temperatures down to 50 mK. The superconducting phase diagram and the first order nature of the superconducting phase transition at high fields close to a critical fieldH _c2 indicate the importance of the Pauli limiting effect in CeCoIn₅. In the same range of magnetic field we observe a second specific heat anomaly within the superconducting state, and interpret it as a signature of a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) inhomogeneous superconducting state. In addition, the thermal conductivity data as a function of field display a kink at a fieldH _k below the superconducting critical field, which closely coincides with the low temperature anomaly in specific heat tentatively identified with the appearance of the FFLO superconducting state. The enhancement of thermal conductivity within the FFLO state calls for further theoretical investigations of the real space structure of the order parameter (and in particular, the structure of vortices) and of the thermal transport within the inhomogeneous FFLO state.     

Interacting antiferromagnetic droplets in quantum critical CeCoIn5

The heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 can be tuned between superconducting and antiferromagnetic ground states by hole doping with Cd. Nuclear magnetic resonance data indicate that these two orders coexist microscopically with an ordered moment approximately 0.7 microB. As the ground state evolves, there is no change in the low-frequency spin dynamics in the disordered state. These results suggest that the magnetism emerges locally in the vicinity of the Cd dopants.     

Multigap superconductivity in the heavy-Fermion system CeCoIn5

New thermal conductivity experiments on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 down to 10 mK rule out the suggested existence of unpaired electrons. Moreover, they reveal strong multigap effects with a remarkably low "critical" field Hc2S for the small gap band, showing that the complexity of heavy-fermion band structure has a direct impact on their response under magnetic field.     

Unpaired electrons in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5

Thermal conductivity and specific heat were measured in the superconducting state of the heavy-fermion material Ce(1-x)La(x)CoIn5. With increasing impurity concentration x, the suppression of T(c) is accompanied by the increase in residual electronic specific heat expected of a d-wave superconductor, but it occurs in parallel with a decrease in residual electronic thermal conductivity. This contrasting behavior reveals the presence of uncondensed electrons coexisting with nodal quasiparticles. An extreme multiband scenario is proposed, with a d-wave superconducting gap on the heavy-electron sheets of the Fermi surface and a negligible gap on the light, three-dimensional pockets.     

Microscopic evidence for field-induced magnetism in CeCoIn5

We present NMR data in the normal and superconducting states of CeCoIn5 for fields close to H(c2)(0)=11.8 T in the ab plane. Recent experiments identified a first-order transition from the normal to superconducting state for H>10.5 T, and a new thermodynamic phase below 290 mK within the superconducting state. We find that the Knight shifts of the In(1), In(2), and the Co are discontinuous across the first-order transition and the magnetic linewidths increase dramatically. The broadening differs for the three sites, unlike the expectation for an Abrikosov vortex lattice, and suggests the presence of static spin moments in the vortex cores. In the low-temperature and high-field phase, the broad NMR lineshapes suggest ordered local moments, rather than a long-wavelength quasiparticle spin density modulation expected for an FFLO phase.     

Anomalous de Haas-van Alphen oscillations in CeCoIn5

We present de Haas-van Alphen oscillation measurements showing a strong spin dependence of the quasiparticle mass enhancement in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 at high magnetic fields. There is evidence that the Fermi-liquid temperature dependence of the oscillations, embodied in the Lifshitz-Kosevich equation, is breaking down on the most strongly renormalized Fermi surface sheets.     

Ambipolar Nernst effect in NbSe2

The first study of the Nernst effect in NbSe2 reveals a large quasiparticle contribution with a magnitude comparable and a sign opposite to the vortex signal. Comparing the effect of the charge density wave (CDW) transition on Hall and Nernst coefficients, we argue that this large Nernst signal originates from the thermally induced counterflow of electrons and holes and indicates a drastic change in the electron scattering rate in the CDW state. The results provide new input for the debate on the origin of the anomalous Nernst signal in high-T(c) cuprates.