Valence effect on the thermopower of Eu systems

We investigated the thermoelectric transport properties of EuNi2P2 and EuIr2Si2 in order to evaluate the relevance of Kondo interaction and valence fluctuations in these materials. While the thermal conductivities behave conventionally, the thermopower curves exhibit large values with pronounced maxima as typically observed in Ce- and Yb-based heavy-fermion materials. However, neither the positions of these maxima nor the absolute thermopower values at low temperature are in line with the heavy-fermion scenario and the moderately enhanced effective charge carrier masses. Instead, we may relate the thermopower in our materials to the temperature-dependent Eu valence by taking into account changes in the chemical potential. Our analysis confirms that valence fluctuations play an important role in EuNi2P2 and EuIr2Si2.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Parity Transition of Spin-Singlet Superconductivity Using Sublattice Degrees of Freedom

縺（もつ）れ結晶で現れる多重超伝導状態の性質を解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-04-20.Recently, a superconducting (SC) transition from low-field (LF) to high-field (HF) SC states was reported in CeRh₂As₂, indicating the existence of multiple SC states. It has been theoretically noted that the existence of two Ce sites in the unit cell, the so-called sublattice degrees of freedom owing to the local inversion symmetry breaking at the Ce sites, can lead to the appearance of multiple SC phases even under an interaction inducing spin-singlet superconductivity. CeRh₂As₂ is considered as the first example of multiple SC phases owing to this sublattice degree of freedom. However, microscopic information about the SC states has not yet been reported. In this study, we measured the SC spin susceptibility at two crystallographically inequivalent As sites using nuclear magnetic resonance for various magnetic fields. Our experimental results strongly indicate a spin-singlet state in both SC phases. In addition, the antiferromagnetic phase, which appears within the SC phase, only coexists with the LF SC phase; there is no sign of magnetic ordering in the HF SC phase. The present Letter reveals unique SC properties originating from the locally noncentrosymmetric characteristics

Anisotropic Seebeck coefficient of Sr2RuO4\mathrm{Sr}_2\mathrm{Ru}\mathrm{O}_4 in the incoherent regime

Intuitive entropic interpretations of the thermoelectric effect in metals predict an isotropic Seebeck coefficient at high temperatures in the incoherent regime even in anisotropic metals since entropy is not directional. $\mathrm{Sr}_2\mathrm{Ru}\mathrm{O}_4$ is an enigmatic material known for a well characterised anisotropic normal state and unconventional superconductivity. Recent ab-initio transport calculations of $\mathrm{Sr}_2\mathrm{Ru}\mathrm{O}_4$ that include the effect of strong electronic correlations predicted an enhanced high-temperature anisotropy of the Seebeck coefficient at temperatures above 300 K, but experimental evidence is missing. From measurements on clean $\mathrm{Sr}_2\mathrm{Ru}\mathrm{O}_4$ single crystals along both crystallographic directions, we find that the Seebeck coefficient becomes increasingly isotropic upon heating towards room temperature as generally expected. Above 300 K, however, $S$ acquires a new anisotropy which rises up to the highest temperatures measured (750 K), in qualitative agreement with calculations. This is a challenge to entropic interpretations and highlights the lack of an intuitive framework to understand the anisotropy of thermopower at high temperatures.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Detection of Intranasally Delivered Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Lesioned Mouse Brain: A Cautionary Report

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) hold promise for autologous treatment of neuropathologies. Intranasal delivery is relatively noninvasive and has recently been reported to result in transport of MSCs to the brain. However, the ability of MSCs to migrate from nasal passages to sites of neuropathology and ultimately survive has not been fully examined. In this paper, we harvested MSCs from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (cells hereafter referred to as MSC-EGFP) and delivered them intranasally to wild-type mice sustaining mechanical lesions in the striatum. Using fluorescent, colorimetric, and ultrastructural detection methods, GFP-expressing cells were undetectable in the brain from 3 hours to 2 months after MSC delivery. However, bright autofluorescence that strongly resembled emission from GFP was observed in the olfactory bulb and striatum of lesioned control and MSC-EGFP-treated mice. In a control experiment, we directly implanted MSC-EGFPs into the mouse striatum and detected robust GFP expression 1 and 7 days after implantation. These findings suggest that—under our conditions—intranasally delivered MSC-EGFPs do not survive or migrate in the brain. Furthermore, our observations highlight the necessity of including appropriate controls when working with GFP as a cellular marker

Anisotropic superconductivity and quantum oscillations in the layered dichalcogenide TaSnS2

TaSnS2 single crystal and polycrystalline samples are investigated in detail by magnetization, electrical resistivity, and specific heat as well as Raman spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Studies are focused on the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the superconducting state. We determine the critical fields for both directions B∥c and B⊥c. Additionally, we investigate the dependence of the resistivity, the critical temperature, and the structure through Raman spectroscopy under high pressure up to 10 GPa. At a pressure of ≈3GPa the superconductivity is suppressed below our minimum temperature. The Sn NMR powder spectrum shows a single line which is expected for the TaSnS2 phase and confirms the high sample quality. Pronounced de Haas-van Alphen oscillations in the ac susceptibility of polycrystalline sample reveal two pairs of frequencies indicating coexisting small and large Fermi surfaces. The effective mass of the smaller Fermi surface is ≈0.5me. We compare these results with the band structures from DFT calculations. Our findings on TaSnS2 are discussed in terms of a quasi-two-dimensional BCS superconductivity

Spatial control of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeIrIn5

M.D.B. acknowledges studentship funding from EPSRC under grant EP/I007002/1.Although crystals of strongly correlated metals exhibit a diverse set of electronic ground states, few approaches exist for spatially modulating their properties. In this study, we demonstrate disorder-free control, on the micrometer scale, over the superconducting state in samples of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn5. We pattern crystals by focused ion beam milling to tailor the boundary conditions for the elastic deformation upon thermal contraction during cooling. The resulting nonuniform strain fields induce complex patterns of superconductivity, owing to the strong dependence of the transition temperature on the strength and direction of strain. These results showcase a generic approach to manipulating electronic order on micrometer length scales in strongly correlated matter without compromising the cleanliness, stoichiometry, or mean free path.PostprintPeer reviewe

Compétition d'états fondamentaux dans URu2Si2 et UCoGe

In this thesis two heavy fermion compounds have been studied under pressure. URu2Si2 has a mysterious ground state below T0 = 17.5 K at ambient pressure. The order parameter has not been identified yet, which led to the name “hidden order” (HO). Below 1.5 K the system becomes additionally superconducting. With pressure, the ground state switches from the hidden order phase to an antiferromagnetic (AF) phase at a critical pressure and superconductivity is concomitant suppressed. Shubnikov-de Haas measurements under pressure show that the Fermi surface doesn't change between the two phases. The folding of the Fermi surface which happens in the high pressure AF phase therefore already happens in the HO phase, indicating a unit cell doubling. Our measurements of the complete angular dependence of the oscillation frequencies test the electronic structure and support new theoretical band structure calculations with rather itinerant 5f electrons. The second part of my research focuses on another uranium compound, UCoGe. It is one of the few known materials where superconductivity (Tsc = 0.6 K) coexists with ferromagnetism (TC = 2.8 K). Precise studies of the pressure phase diagram by resistivity, ac calorimetry and ac susceptibility show that the ferromagnetic phase is suppressed at a pressure of about 1 GPa and the superconducting phase extends into the paramagnetic phase induced by pressure. Ferromagnetism is rapidly suppressed when superconductivity appears first on cooling. Thus, its pressure phase diagram is unique in the class of ferromagnetic superconductors.Dans cette thèse, deux composés à fermions lourds ont été étudiés sous pression. L'état fondamental en dessous de T0 = 17.5 K dans URu2Si2 est appelé "ordre caché (HO), parce que le paramètre d'ordre n'a pas encore été trouvé. A 1.5 K, le système devient en plus supraconducteur. Sous pression, le système devient antiferromagnetique (AF) au dessus d'une pression critique. Des mesures Shubnikov-de Haas sous pression montre, que la surface de Fermi ne change pas entre les deux phases. Dans la phase AF, le dédoublement de la maille implique une reconstruction de la surface de Fermi. Vu que celle-ci ne change pas sous pression, ce dédoublement doit avoir lieu déjà dans l'HO. Nos mesures de la dépendance angulaire des fréquences d'oscillation supportent des nouveau calcules de bande dans le cas d'électrons plutôt itinérant. Comme deuxième partie de ma thèse, j'ai étudié le diagramme de phase sous pression du supraconducteur (SC) ferromagnétique (FM) UCoGe (TC = 2.8 K,Tsc = 0.6 K). Les mesures de résistivité, ac calorimétrie et ac susceptibilité montrent que la phase FM est supprimé a environs 1 GPa mais la phase SC existe jusque dans la phase paramagnétique induite par la pression. Ce diagramme de phase est unique dans la classe des supraconducteurs ferromagnétiques