Search results for " superconductivity"
showing 10 items of 319 documents
Evidence for eight node mixed-symmetry superconductivity in a correlated organic metal
2015
We report a combined theoretical and experimental investigation of the superconducting state in the quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductor $\kappa$-(ET)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br. Applying spin-fluctuation theory to a low-energy material-specific Hamiltonian derived from ab initio density functional theory we calculate the quasiparticle density of states in the superconducting state. We find a distinct three-peak structure that results from a strongly anisotropic mixed-symmetry superconducting gap with eight nodes and twofold rotational symmetry. This theoretical prediction is supported by low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy on in situ cleaved single crystals of $\kappa$-(ET)$_2$…
Microwave second-harmonic response of ceramic MgB2 samples
2005
Nonlinear microwave response of different ceramic MgB2 samples has been investigated by the technique of second-harmonic emission. The second-harmonic signal has been investigated as a function of temperature, DC magnetic field and input microwave power. The attention has mainly been devoted to the response at low magnetic fields, where nonlinear processes arising from motion of Abrikosov fluxons are ineffective. The results show that different mechanisms are responsible for the nonlinear response in the different ranges of temperature. At low temperatures, the nonlinear response is due to processes involving weak links. At temperatures close to Tc, a further contribution to the harmonic em…
Skyrmion formation due to unconventional magnetic modes in anisotropic multiband superconductors
2018
Multiband superconductors have a sufficient number of degrees of freedom to allow topological excitations characterized by Skyrmionic topological invariants. In the most common, clean s-wave multiband, systems the interband magnetic coupling favours composite vortex solutions, without a Skyrmionic topological charge. It was discussed recently that certain kinds of anisotropies lead to hybridisation of the interband phase difference (Leggett) mode with magnetic modes, dramatically changing the hydromagnetostatics of the system. Here we report this effect for a range of parameters that substantially alter the nature of the topological excitations, leading to solutions characterized by a nontr…
Intercalation effect on hyperfine parameters of Fe in FeSe superconductor with Tc = 42 K
2015
57Fe-Mossbauer spectra of superconducting beta-FeSe, the Li/NH3 intercalate product and a subsequent sample of this intercalate treated with moist He gas have been measured in temperature range 4.7 - 290 K. A correlation is established between hyperfine parameters and critical temperature Tc in these phases. A strong increase of isomer shift upon intercalation is explained by a charge transfer from the Li/NH3 intercalate to the FeSe layers resulting in an increase of Tc up to 42 K. A significant decrease of the quadrupole splitting above 240 K has been attributed to diffusive motion of Li+ ions within the interlamellar space.
Anomalous magnetic hysteresis in the microwave surface resistance of MgB2 superconductor
2007
We report experimental results of the field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance in samples of MgB2, produced by different methods. By sweeping the DC magnetic field at increasing and decreasing values, we have detected a magnetic hysteresis that can be ascribed to the different magnetic induction, due to the critical state of the fluxon lattice. The hysteresis observed in the bulk samples has an unusual shape, which cannot be justified in the framework of the critical-state models.
Field-induced suppression of the pi-band superconductivity and magnetic hysteresis in the microwave surface resistance of MgB_2 at temperatures near …
2009
We report on the magnetic-field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance, R_s, in a polycrystalline MgB_2 sample, at different values of temperature. We have detected a magnetic hysteresis in R_s, which exhibits an unexpected plateau on decreasing the DC magnetic field below a certain value. In particular, at temperatures near T_c the hysteresis manifests itself only through the presence of the plateau. Although we do not quantitatively justify the anomalous shape of the magnetic hysteresis, we show that the results obtained in the reversible region of the R_s(H) curve can be quite well accounted for by supposing that, in this range of magnetic field, the pi-gap is almost supp…
Prediction of pressure-induced superconductivity in the novel ternary system ScCaH2n (n = 1–6)
2021
Hydrogen-rich systems are currently thought to constitute the most promising potential high-temperature superconductor materials. Here, the high-pressure structure and superconductivity of the ternary hydrogen-rich system ScCaH2n (n = 1–6) are systematically investigated by using the prediction method of particle swarm optimization structure combined with first-principles calculations. As n increases, the electron local function (ELF) indicates that the hydrogen atoms in this system exhibit different behaviors corresponding to single H atoms, H2 molecules, graphene-like layers and, ultimately, H clathrate cages. The electron phonon coupling (EPC) calculation shows that the superconducting t…
Enhanced superconductivity in atomically thin TaS2
2016
The ability to exfoliate layered materials down to the single layer limit has presented the opportunity to understand how a gradual reduction in dimensionality affects the properties of bulk materials. Here we use this top–down approach to address the problem of superconductivity in the two-dimensional limit. The transport properties of electronic devices based on 2H tantalum disulfide flakes of different thicknesses are presented. We observe that superconductivity persists down to the thinnest layer investigated (3.5 nm), and interestingly, we find a pronounced enhancement in the critical temperature from 0.5 to 2.2 K as the layers are thinned down. In addition, we propose a tight-binding …
Magnetic hysteresis in the microwave surface resistance of Nb samples in the critical state
2006
We discuss the hysteretic behavior of the field-induced variations of the microwave surface resistance in superconductors in the critical state. Measurements have been performed in a bulk sample of Nb and a powdered one at different values of the temperature. We discuss a model, based on the Coffey and Clem theory, in which we take into account the flux distribution inside the sample, due to the critical state. The experimental results are justified quantitatively in the framework of our model. We show that by fitting the experimental data it is possible to determine the value of the critical current density and its field dependence.
Coherent coupling between vortex bound states and magnetic impurities in 2D layered superconductors
2021
Bound states in superconductors are expected to exhibit a spatially resolved electron-hole asymmetry which is the hallmark of their quantum nature. This asymmetry manifests as oscillations at the Fermi wavelength, which is usually tiny and thus washed out by thermal broadening or by scattering at defects. Here we demonstrate theoretically and confirm experimentally that, when coupled to magnetic impurities, bound states in a vortex core exhibit an emergent axial electron-hole asymmetry on a much longer scale, set by the coherence length. We study vortices in 2H-NbSe2 and in 2H-NbSe1.8S0.2 with magnetic impurities, characterizing these with detailed Hubbard-corrected density functional calcu…