Angle Dependent Magnetoresistance of the Layered Organic Superconductor \kappa-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2: Simulation and Experiment

The angle-dependences of the magnetoresistance of two different isotopic substitutions (deuterated and undeuterated) of the layered organic superconductor \kappa-(ET)2Cu(NCS)2 are presented. The angle dependent magnetoresistance oscillations (AMRO) arising from the quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) and quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) Fermi surfaces in this material are often confused. By using the Boltzman transport equation extensive simulations of the AMRO are made that reveal the subtle differences between the different species of oscillation. No significant differences are observed in the electronic parameters derived from quantum oscillations and AMRO for the two isotopic substitutions. The interlayer transfer integrals are determined for both isotopic substitutions and a slight difference is observed which may account for the negative isotope effect previously reported [1]. The success of the semi-classical simulations suggests that non-Fermi liquid effects are not required to explain the interlayer-transport in this system.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figure

Anomalous superfluid density in quantum critical superconductors

When a second-order magnetic phase transition is tuned to zero temperature by a non-thermal parameter, quantum fluctuations are critically enhanced, often leading to the emergence of unconventional superconductivity. In these `quantum critical' superconductors it has been widely reported that the normal-state properties above the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ often exhibit anomalous non-Fermi liquid behaviors and enhanced electron correlations. However, the effect of these strong critical fluctuations on the superconducting condensate below $T_c$ is less well established. Here we report measurements of the magnetic penetration depth in heavy-fermion, iron-pnictide, and organic superconductors located close to antiferromagnetic quantum critical points showing that the superfluid density in these nodal superconductors universally exhibit, unlike the expected $T$-linear dependence, an anomalous 3/2 power-law temperature dependence over a wide temperature range. We propose that this non-integer power-law can be explained if a strong renormalization of effective Fermi velocity due to quantum fluctuations occurs only for momenta $\bm{k}$ close to the nodes in the superconducting energy gap $\Delta(\bm{k})$. We suggest that such `nodal criticality' may have an impact on low-energy properties of quantum critical superconductors.Comment: Main text (5 pages, 3 figures) + Supporting Information (3 pages, 4 figures). Published in PNAS Early Edition on February 12, 201

Studies of the nonlinear dynamics effects of APPLE-II type EPUs at the ALS

Elliptically Polarizing Undulators (EPUs) have become more and more popular at synchrotron radiation sources, providing full polarization control of the photon beam. The fields of the most commonly used APPLE-II type EPUs have a very fast, intrinsic field roll-off, creating significant non-linearities of the beam motion with in some cases large impact on the dynamic (momentum) aperture. In general, the nonlinear effects get stronger with longer periods and higher undulator magnetic fields. One of the planned future beamlines at the ALS (MERLIN) will use a quasiperiodic EPU with 9 cm period and maximum B fields of about 1.3 T. We will present simulation studies for the proposed shimming schemes for this future device to reduce the nonlinear effects to acceptable values, as well as experimental studies for the existing 5 cm period EPUs already installed in the ALS

Persistence to high temperatures of interlayer coherence in an organic superconductor

The interlayer magnetoresistance $\rho_{zz}$ of the organic metal \cuscn is studied in fields of up to 45 T and at temperatures $T$ from 0.5 K to 30 K. The peak in $\rho_{zz}$ seen in in-plane fields, a definitive signature of interlayer coherence, remains to $T$s exceeding the Anderson criterion for incoherent transport by a factor $\sim 30$. Angle-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations are modeled using an approach based on field-induced quasiparticle paths on a 3D Fermi surface, to yield the $T$ dependence of the scattering rate $\tau^{-1}$. The results suggest that $\tau^{-1}$ does not vary strongly over the Fermi surface, and that it has a $T^2$ dependence due to electron-electron scattering

Magnetic properties of the S=1/2 quasi square lattice antiferromagnet CuF2(H2O)2(pyz) (pyz=pyrazine) investigated by neutron scattering

We have performed elastic and inelastic neutron experiments on single crystal samples of the coordination polymer compound CuF2(H2O)2(pyz) (pyz=pyrazine) to study the magnetic structure and excitations. The elastic neutron diffraction measurements indicate a collinear antiferromagnetic structure with moments oriented along the [0.7 0 1] real-space direction and an ordered moment of 0.60 +/- 0.03 muB/Cu. This value is significantly smaller than the single ion magnetic moment, reflecting the presence of strong quantum fluctuations. The spin wave dispersion from magnetic zone center to the zone boundary points (0.5 1.5 0) and (0.5 0 1.5) can be described by a two dimensional Heisenberg model with a nearest neighbor magnetic exchange constant J2d = 0.934 +/-0.0025 meV. The inter-layer interaction Jperp in this compound is less than 1.5% of J2d. The spin excitation energy at the (0.5 0.5 0.5) zone boundary point is reduced when compared to the (0.5 1 0.5) zone boundary point by ~10.3 +/- 1.4 %. This zone boundary dispersion is consistent with quantum Monte Carlo and series expansion calculations which include corrections for quantum fluctuations to linear spin wave theory.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Microscopic origin of the mobility enhancement at a spinel/perovskite oxide heterointerface revealed by photoemission spectroscopy

The spinel/perovskite heterointerface $\gamma$-Al$_2$O$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ hosts a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) with electron mobilities exceeding those in its all-perovskite counterpart LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ by more than an order of magnitude despite the abundance of oxygen vacancies which act as electron donors as well as scattering sites. By means of resonant soft x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and \textit{ab initio} calculations we reveal the presence of a sharply localized type of oxygen vacancies at the very interface due to the local breaking of the perovskite symmetry. We explain the extraordinarily high mobilities by reduced scattering resulting from the preferential formation of interfacial oxygen vacancies and spatial separation of the resulting 2DES in deeper SrTiO$_3$ layers. Our findings comply with transport studies and pave the way towards defect engineering at interfaces of oxides with different crystal structures.Comment: Accepted as Rapid Communications in Physical Review