Magnetization under High Pressure in MnSi

The magnetization M(H) has been measured in the weakly helimagnetic itinerant compound MnSi under high pressure up to 10.2 kbar and high magnetic field up to 9 Tesla. We interpret the simultaneous decrease under pressure of the saturated magnetization, $p_s$, and the Curie temperature, $$ in the frame of the self-consistent renormalization theory (SCR) of spin fluctuations. From the analysis of the so-called Arrot-plot ($H/p [ H,T ]$ versus $p^2[ H,T ]$) and the respective volume dependence of $p_s$ and $T_c$, we estimate the evolution of the characteristic spin fluctuation temperatures, $T_0$ and $T_A$ when the system approaches its critical pressure, $P_c$=15 kbar, corresponding to the disappearance of the long range magnetic order at T=0.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

On the phase diagram of UGe2

The magneto-elastic mechanism of development of the first order type instability at the phase transition to the ferromagnet state in itinerant ferromagnet-superconductor UGe2 is discussed. The particular property of this material is the precipitous drop of the critical temperature at pressure increase near 14-15 kbar that drastically increases the temperature of the first order instability in respect to the critical temperature. This effect leading to transformation of the second order type transition to the first order one is determined also by the specific heat increase in the temperature interval of the development of critical fluctuations. After performing the necessary calculations and estimations using the parameters characterizing the properties of UGe2 we argue the effectiveness of this mechanism.Comment: 6 page

Implications of the B20 Crystal Structure for the Magneto-electronic Structure of MnSi

Due to increased interest in the unusual magnetic and transport behavior of MnSi and its possible relation to its crystal structure (B20) which has unusual coordination and lacks inversion symmetry, we provide a detailed analysis of the electronic and magnetic structure of MnSi. The non-symmorphic P2_13 spacegroup leads to unusual fourfold degenerate states at the zone corner R point, as well as ``sticking'' of pairs of bands throughout the entire Brillouin zone surface. The resulting Fermi surface acquires unusual features as a result of the band sticking. For the ferromagnetic system (neglecting the long wavelength spin spiral) with the observed moment of 0.4 \mu_B/Mn, one of the fourfold levels at R in the minority bands falls at the Fermi energy (E_F), and a threefold majority level at k=0 also falls at E_F. The band sticking and presence of bands with vanishing velocity at E_F imply an unusually large phase space for long wavelength, low energy interband transitions that will be important for understanding the unusual resistivity and far infrared optical behavior.Comment: Nine two-column pages with eight figures include

Phase Inhomogeneity of the Itinerant Ferromagnet MnSi at High Pressures

The pressure induced quantum phase transition of the weakly itinerant ferromagnet MnSi is studied using zero-field $^{29}Si$ NMR spectroscopy and relaxation. Below $P^*\approx 1.2GPa$, the intensity of the signal and the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation is independent of pressure, even though the amplitude of the magnetization drops by 20% from the ambient pressure amplitude. For $P>P^*$, the decreasing intensity within the experimentally detectable bandwidth signals the onset of an inhomogeneous phase that persists to the highest pressure measured, $P\ge 1.75GPa$, which is well beyond the known critical pressure $P_c=1.46GPa$. Implications for the non-Fermi Liquid behavior observed for $P>P_c$ are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Pressure-induced unconventional superconductivity in the heavy-fermion antiferromagnet CeIn3: An 115In-NQR study under pressure

We report on the pressure-induced unconventional superconductivity in the heavy-fermion antiferromagnet CeIn3 by means of nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) studies conducted under a high pressure. The temperature and pressure dependences of the NQR spectra have revealed a first-order quantum-phase transition (QPT) from an AFM to PM at a critical pressure Pc=2.46 GPa. Despite the lack of an AFM quantum critical point in the P-T phase diagram, we highlight the fact that the unconventional SC occurs in both phases of the AFM and PM. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 in the AFM phase have provided evidence for the uniformly coexisting AFM+SC phase. In the HF-PM phase where AFM fluctuations are not developed, 1/T1 decreases without the coherence peak just below Tc, followed by a power-law like T dependence that indicates an unconventional SC with a line-node gap. Remarkably, Tc has a peak around Pc in the HF-PM phase as well as in the AFM phase. In other words, an SC dome exists with a maximum value of Tc = 230 mK around Pc, indicating that the origin of the pressure-induced HF SC in CeIn3 is not relevant to AFM spin fluctuations but to the emergence of the first-order QPT in CeIn3. When the AFM critical temperature is suppressed at the termination point of the first-order QPT, Pc = 2.46 GPa, the diverging AFM spin-density fluctuations emerge at the critical point from the AFM to PM. The results with CeIn3 leading to a new type of quantum criticality deserve further theoretical investigations

New Superconducting and Magnetic Phases Emerge on the Verge of Antiferromagnetism in CeIn3_3

We report the discovery of new superconducting and novel magnetic phases in CeIn$_3$ on the verge of antiferromagnetism (AFM) under pressure ($P$) through the In-nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurements. We have found a $P$-induced phase separation of AFM and paramagnetism (PM) without any trace for a quantum phase transition in CeIn$_3$. A new type of superconductivity (SC) was found in $P=2.28-2.5$ GPa to coexist with AFM that is magnetically separated from PM where the heavy fermion SC takes place. We propose that the magnetic excitations such as spin-density fluctuations induced by the first-order magnetic phase transition might mediate attractive interaction to form Cooper pairs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 EPS figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Huge Enhancement of Impurity Scattering due to Critical Valence Fluctuations in a Ce-Based Heavy Electron System

On the basis of the Ward-Pitaevskii identity, the residual resistivity $\rho_{0}$ is shown to exhibit huge enhancement around the quantum critical point of valence transition in Ce-based heavy electron systems. This explains a sharp peak of $\rho_{0}$ observed in CeCu$_2$Ge$_2$ under the pressure at $P\sim$16GPa where the superconducting trasition temperature also exhibit the sharp peak.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Singular Effects of Impurities near the Ferromagnetic Quantum-Critical Point

Systematic theoretical results for the effects of a dilute concentration of magnetic impurities on the thermodynamic and transport properties in the region around the quantum critical point of a ferromagnetic transition are obtained. In the quasi-classical regime, the dynamical spin fluctuations enhance the Kondo temperature. This energy scale decreases rapidly in the quantum fluctuation regime, where the properties are those of a line of critical points of the multichannel Kondo problem with the number of channels increasing as the critical point is approached, except at unattainably low temperatures where a single channel wins out.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure