261 research outputs found
Evolution of crystalline electric field effects, superconductivity, and heavy fermion behavior in the specific heat of Pr(OsRu)Sb
Specific heat measurements were made on single crystals of the
superconducting filled skutterudite series Pr(OsRu)Sb
down to 0.6 K. Crystalline electric field fits in the normal state produced
parameters which were in agreement with previous measurements. Bulk
superconductivity was observed for all values of the Ru concentration with
transition temperatures consistent with previous experiments, confirming a
minimum in at . The data below appear to be more
consistent with power law behavior for (PrOsSb), and with
exponential behavior for . An enhanced electronic
specific heat coefficient was observed for , further
supporting as a critical concentration where the physical
properties abruptly change. Significant enhancement of above
the weak coupling value was only observed for and .Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review B. v2: text added
and figures modifie
Superconducting phase diagram of the filled skuterrudite PrOs4Sb12
We present new measurements of the specific heat of the heavy fermion
superconductor PrOs4Sb12, on a sample which exhibits two sharp distinct
anomalies at Tc1= 1.89K and Tc2= 1.72K. They are used to draw a precise
magnetic field-temperature superconducting phase diagram of PrOs4Sb12 down to
350 mK.
We discuss the superconducting phase diagram of PrOs4Sb12 and its possible
relation with an unconventional superconducting order parameter. We give a
detailed analysis of Hc2(T), which shows paramagnetic limitation (a support for
even parity pairing) and multiband effects
Pressure dependence of the magnetization of URu2Si2
The ground state of URu2Si2 changes from so-called hidden order (HO) to
large-moment antiferromagnetism (LMAF) upon applying hydrostatic pressure in
excess of 14 kbar. We report the dc-magnetization M(B,T,p) of URu2Si2 for
magnetic fields B up to 12 T, temperatures T in the range 2 to 100 K, and
pressure p up to 17 kbar. Remarkably, characteristic scales such as the
coherence temperature T*, the transition temperature T0, and the anisotropy in
the magnetization depend only weakly on the applied pressure. However, the
discontinuity in dM/dT at T0, which measures the magnetocaloric effect,
decreases nearly 50 % upon applying 17 kbar for M and B parallel to the
tetragonal c-axis, while it increases 15-fold for the a-axis. Our findings
suggest that the HO and LMAF phases have an astonishing degree of similarity in
their physical properties, but a key difference is the magnetocaloric effect
near T0 in the basal plane
On the theory of the vortex state in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase
We demonstrate that the vortex state in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov
(FFLO) phase may be very different depending on the field orientation relative
to the crystalline axes. We calculate numerically the upper critical field near
the tricritical point taking into account the modulation of the order parameter
along the magnetic field as well as the higher Landau levels. For s-wave
superconductors with the anisotropy described by an elliptical Fermi surface we
propose a general scheme of the analysis of the angular dependence of upper
critical field at all temperatures on the basis of the exact solution for the
order parameter. Our results show that the transitions (with tilting magnetic
field) between different types of mixed states may be a salient feature of the
FFLO phase. Moreover we discuss the reasons for the first-order phase
transition into the FFLO state in the case of CeCoIn5 compound.Comment: 7 figure
Observation of anisotropic effect of antiferromagnetic ordering on the superconducting gap in ErNi2B2C
The point-contact (PC) spectra of the Andreev reflection dV/dI curves of the
superconducting rare-earth nickel borocarbide ErNi2B2C (Tc=11 K) have been
analyzed in the "one-gap" and "two-gap" approximations using the generalized
Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (GBTK) model and the Beloborod'ko (BB) model allowing
for the pair-breaking effect of magnetic impurities. Experimental and
calculated curves have been compared not only in shape, but in magnitude as
well, which provide more reliable data for determining the temperature
dependence of the energy gap (or superconducting order parameter) \Delta(T).
The anisotropic effect of antiferromagnetic ordering at T_N =6 K on the
superconducting gap/order parameter has been determined: as the temperature is
lowered, \Delta(T) decreases by 25% in the c-direction and only by 4% in the
ab-plane. It is found that the pair-breaking parameter increases in the
vicinity of the magnetic transitions, the increase being more pronounced in the
c-direction. The efficiency of the models was tested for providing \Delta(T)
data for ErNi2B2C from Andreev reflection spectra.Comment: 16 two column pages, 20 figs., will be published in Fiz. Nizk. Temp.
N10, 2010; V2: added - "Acknowledgement" & "Note added in proof
Double superconducting transition in the filled skutterudite PrOs4Sb12 and sample characterizations
A thorough characterization of many samples of the filled skutterudite
compound PrOs4Sb12 is provided. We find that the double superconducting
transition in the specific heat Tc1~1.89K and Tc2~1.72K tends to appear in
samples with a large residual resistivity ratio, large specific heat jump at
the superconducting transition and with the highest absolute value of the
specific heat above Tc1. However, we present evidence which casts doubt on the
intrinsic nature of the double superconducting transition. The ratio of the two
specific heat jumps \Delta C(Tc1)/\Delta C(Tc2) shows a wide range of values on
crystals from different batches but also within the same batch. This ratio was
strongly reduced by polishing a sample down to 120um. Remarkably, three samples
exhibit a single sharp transition of ~15mK in width at Tc~1.7K. The normalized
specific heat jump (C-Cnormal)/Cnormal at Tc of two of them is higher than ~32%
so larger than the sum of the two specific heat jumps when a double transition
exists. As an evidence of better quality, the slope in the transition is at
least two time steeper.
We discuss the origins of the double transition; in particular we consider,
based on X-ray diffraction results, a scenario involving Pr-vacancies. The
superconducting phase diagram under magnetic field of a sample with a single
transition is fitted with a two-band model taking into account the good values
for the gap as deduced from thermal conductivity measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physical review
Disordered Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov State in d-wave Superconductors
We study the Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconducting state in
the disordered systems. We analyze the microscopic model, in which the d-wave
superconductivity is stabilized near the antiferromagnetic quantum critical
point, and investigate two kinds of disorder, namely, box disorder and point
disorder, on the basis of the Bogoliubov-deGennes (BdG) equation. The spatial
structure of modulated superconducting order parameter and the magnetic
properties in the disordered FFLO state are investigated. We point out the
possibility of "FFLO glass" state in the presence of strong point disorders,
which arises from the configurational degree of freedom of FFLO nodal plane.
The distribution function of local spin susceptibility is calculated and its
relation to the FFLO nodal plane is clarified. We discuss the NMR measurements
for CeCoIn_5.Comment: Submitted to New. J. Phys. a focus issue on "Superconductors with
Exotic Symmetries
High pressure phase diagrams of CeRhIn and CeCoIn studied by ac calorimetry
The pressure-temperature phase diagrams of the heavy fermion antiferromagnet
CeRhIn and the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn have been studied
under hydrostatic pressure by ac calorimetry and ac susceptibility measurements
using diamond anvil cells with argon as pressure medium. In CeRhIn, the use
of a highly hydrostatic pressure transmitting medium allows for a clean
simultaneous determination by a bulk probe of the antiferromagnetic and
superconducting transitions. We compare our new phase diagram with the previous
ones, discuss the nature (first or second order) of the various lines, and the
coexistence of antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity. The link between
the collaps of the superconducting heat anomaly and the broadening of the
antiferromagnetic transition points to an inhomogeneous appearence of
superconductivity below GPa. Homogeneous bulk
superconductivity is only observed above this critical pressure. We present a
detailed analysis of the influence of pressure inomogeneities on the specific
heat anomalies which emphasizes that the observed broadening of the transitions
near is connected with the first order transition. For CeCoIn we show
that the large specific heat anomaly observed at at ambient pressure is
suppressed linearly at least up to 3 GPa
c axis electrical transport at the metamagnetic transition in the heavy-fermion superconductor UTe2 under pressure
The electrical resistivity of the unconventional superconductor UTe shows
very anisotropic behavior in the normal state depending on the current
direction. In the present paper we show that the maximum in the resistivity
for current applied along the axis at ~K follows the minimum in the thermal expansion
along axis. Under a magnetic field applied along the axis, can be tracked up to the critical point of the first order
metamagnetic transition, which is located near 6~K and 34.5~T. Surprisingly, at
the metamagnetic field the resistivity shows a steplike decrease
while the resistivities and , for current along the and
axis, respectively, show a steplike increase. Under hydrostatic pressure
and decrease significantly up to the critical
pressure at which superconductivity is suppressed and a long range
antiferromagnetic order appears. We show that the phase diagram at different
pressures can be scaled by in field and temperature
suggesting that this temperature scale is governing the main interactions in
the normal state.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figure
Multivariate analysis of 3D ToF-SIMS images: method validation and application to cultured neuronal networks
Advanced data analysis tools are crucial for the application of ToF-SIMS analysis to biological samples. Here, we demonstrate that by using a training set approach principal components analysis (PCA) can be performed on large 3D ToF-SIMS images of neuronal cell cultures. The method readily provides access to sample component information and significantly improves the images’ signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
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