Gap Symmetry and Thermal Conductivity in Nodal Superconductors

Here we consider the universal heat conduction and the angular dependent thermal conductivity in the vortex state for a few nodal superconductors. We present the thermal conductivity as a function of impurity concentration and the angular dependent thermal conductivity in a few nodal superconductors. This provides further insight in the gap symmetry of superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ and UPd$_2$Al$_3$.Comment: 2 pages, proceedings of SCES '0

Thermal conductivity in B- and C- phase of UPt_3

Although the superconductivity in UPt_3 is one of the most well studied, there are still lingering questions about the nodal directions in the B and C phase in the presence of a magnetic field. Limiting ourselves to the low temperature regime (T<<Delta(0)), we study the magnetothermal conductivity with in semiclassical approximation using Volovik's approach. The angular dependence of the magnetothermal conductivity for an arbitrary field direction should clarify the nodal structure in UPt_3.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Anisotropy of in-plane magnetization due to nodal gap structure in the vortex state

We examine the interplay between anisotropy of the in-plane magnetization and the nodal gap structure on the basis of the approximate analytic solution in the quasiclassical formalism. We show that a four-fold oscillation appears in the magnetization, and its amplitude changes sign at an intermediate field. The high-field oscillation originates from the anisotropy of the upper critical field, while the low-field behavior can be understood by the thermally activated quasiparticles near nodes depending on the applied field angles. The temperature dependence of the magnetization also shows a similar sign change. The anisotropy of the magnetization offers a possible measurement to identify the gap structure directly for a wide class of type II superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Gap Symmetry of Superconductivity in UPd2Al3

The angle dependent thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor UPd$_2$Al$_3$ in the vortex state was recently measured by Watanabe et al. Here we analyze this data from two perspectives: universal heat conduction and the angle-dependence. We conclude that the superconducting gap function $\Delta({\bf k})$ in UPd$_2$Al$_3$ has horizontal nodes and is given by $\Delta({\bf k}) =\Delta\cos(2\chi)$, with $\chi = ck_{z}$.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, improved figures in replacemen

Enhanced quasiparticle heat conduction of the multigap superconductor Lu2Fe3Si5

The thermal transport measurements have been made on the Fe-based superconductor Lu2Fe3Si5 (Tc ~ 6 K) down to a very low temperature Tc/120. The field and temperature dependences of the thermal conductivity confirm the multigap superconductivity with fully opened gaps on the whole Fermi surfaces. In comparison to MgB2 as a typical example of the multigap superconductor in a p-electron system, Lu2Fe3Si5 reveals a remarkably enhanced quasiparticle heat conduction in the mixed state. The results can be interpreted as a consequence of the electronic correlations derived from Fe 3d-electrons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Nonlinear response and scaling law in the vortex state of d-wave superconductors

We study the field dependence of the quasi-particle density of states, the thermodynamics and the transport properties in the vortex state of d-wave superconductors when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the conducting plane, specially for the low field and the low temperature compared to the upper critical field and transition temperature, respectively, $H/H_{c2} \ll 1$ and $T/T_c \ll 1$. Both the superfluid density and the spin susceptibility exhibit the characteristic $\sqrt{H}$-field dependence, while the nuclear spin lattice relaxation rate T$_1^{-1}$ and the thermal conductivity are linear in field $H$. With increasing temperature, these quantities exhibit the scaling behavior in $T/\sqrt{H}$. The present theory applies to 2D $f$-wave superconductor as well; a possible candidate of the superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Anomalous quasiparticle transport in the superconducting state of CeCoIn5

We report on a study of thermal Hall conductivity k_xy in the superconducting state of CeCoIn_5. The scaling relation and the density of states of the delocalized quasiparticles, both obtained from k_xy, are consistent with d-wave superconducting symmetry. The onset of superconductivity is accompanied by a steep increase in the thermal Hall angle, pointing to a striking enhancement in the quasiparticle mean free path. This enhancement is drastically suppressed in a very weak magnetic field. These results highlight that CeCoIn_5 is unique among superconductors. A small Fermi energy, a large superconducting gap, a short coherence length, and a long mean free path all indicate that CeCoIn_5 is clearly in the superclean regime (E_F/Delta<<l/xi), in which peculiar vortex state is expected.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Superconducting Gap Structure of kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 Probed by Thermal Conductivity Tensor

The thermal conductivity of organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 (Tc =10.4 K) has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D superconducting planes with high alignment precision. At low temperatures (T < 0.5 K), a clear fourfold symmetry in the angular variation, which is characteristic of a d-wave superconducting gap with nodes along the directions rotated 45 degrees relative to the b and c axes of the crystal, was resolved. The determined nodal structure is inconsistent with recent theoretical predictions of superconductivity induced by the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let