RESUMEN
Electrical resistivity experiments show superconductivity atTc=1.1K in a high-quality single crystal of trigonalγ-PtBi2, with an enhanced critical magnetic fieldµ0Hc2(0)â³1.5Tesla and a low critical current-densityJc(0)≈40 A cm-2atH = 0. BothTcandHc2(0)are the highest reported values for stoichiometric bulk samples at ambient pressure. We found a weakHc2anisotropy withΓ=Hc2ab/Hc2c<1, which is unusual among superconductors. Under a magnetic field, the superconducting transition becomes broader and asymmetric. Along with the low critical currents, this observation suggests an inhomogeneous superconducting state. In fact, no trace of superconductivity is observed through field-cooling-zero-field-cooling magnetization experiments.
RESUMEN
To describe the way complexity emerges in seemingly simple systems of nature, requires one to attend to two principal questions: how complex patterns appear spontaneously and why a single system can accommodate their inexhaustible variety. It is commonly assumed the pattern formation phenomenon is related to the competition of several types of interactions with disparate length scales. These multi-scale interactions also lead to frustration within the system, resulting in the existence of a manifold of configurations-patterns with qualitatively distinct morphologies. This work explores an alternative approach through a mechanism that leads to a wide range of intricate and topologically non-trivial patterns. The mechanism is described by the self-dual Ginzburg-Landau theory and, possibly, other Maxwell-Higgs models. It gives rise to unique spatial flux and condensate spatial profiles observed in superconductors between the two conventional superconductivity types I and II.
RESUMEN
We investigate the effects of non-magnetic disorder in a hybridized two-dimensional two-orbital s-wave superconductor (SC) model. The situation in which electronic orbitals overlap such that the hybridizationVi,jamong them is antisymmetric, under inversion symmetry, was taken into account. The on-site disorder is given by a random impurity potentialW. We find that while the random disorder acts to the detriment of superconductivity, hybridization proceeds to favor it. Accordingly, hybridization plays an important role in two-orbital models of superconductivity, in order to hold the long-range order against the increase of disorder. This makes the present model eligible to describe real materials, since the hybridization may be induced by pressure or doping. In addition, the regime from moderate to strong disorder reveals that the system is broken into SC islands with correlated local order parameters. These correlations persist to distances of several order lattice spacing which corresponds to the size of the SC-Islands.
RESUMEN
Spatially extended aggregates or clusters of dopants are ubiquitous in a plethora of granular superconducting systems, such as Al-dopedMgB2and N-dopedMo2N, forming a droplet network that is very important to their characterization and to the description of their superconducting properties. At the same time, one of the most studied classes of unconventional superconducting materials are the high-temperature superconductors, where special attention is given to the hole-doped cuprates, where the carrier concentration is controlled by the amount of extra interstitial oxygen dopants. In this context, the formation of spatially inhomogeneous aggregates of interstitial dopant oxygen atoms, in the form of nanosized superpuddles, is not only relevant, but also a subject of intense recent experimental and theoretical surveys. Following these efforts, in this work we investigate the consequences of the presence of networks of inhomogeneously distributed dopant superpuddles on the superconducting state. Starting from the inhomogeneous extended disordered background brought by the network of superpuddles, we demonstrate, with the aid of an effective interaction between electrons mediated by the local vibrational degrees of freedom of each puddle, that the Cooper pairs arising from an attractive interaction in an inhomogeneous medium have a finite center-of-mass (CM) momentum,p, that breaks up the Cooper channel. Furthermore, we derive an analytical expression for the amplitude of the superconducting gap,Δk, in terms of disorder and finite CM momentum and show that amplitude fluctuations are induced in the superconducting state by the presence of the superpuddles, where both the gap and the critical temperature are reduced by disorder and finite momentum pairs. Finally, we discuss our findings in the context of synchronized networks of superconducting oxygen nano-puddles in cuprates and in other granular superconducting systems.
RESUMEN
We carried out electrical resistivity and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies on the filled skutterudite superconductors LaPt4Ge12 and PrPt4Ge12 under hydrostatic pressure. The superconducting transition temperature Tc is linearly suppressed upon increasing pressure, though the effect of pressure on Tc is rather weak. From the analysis of the XRD data, we obtain bulk moduli of B=106 GPa and B=83 GPa for LaPt4Ge12 and PrPt4Ge12, respectively. The knowledge of the bulk modulus allows us to compare the dependence of Tc on the unit-cell volume from our pressure study directly with that found in the substitution series La1-xPrxPt4Ge12. We find that application of hydrostatic pressure can be characterized mainly as a volume effect in LaPt4Ge12 and PrPt4Ge12, while substitution of Pr for La in La1-xPrxPt4Ge12 yields features going beyond a simple picture.
RESUMEN
Granularity is one of the main features restricting the maximum current which a superconductor can carry without losses, persisting as an important research topic when applications are concerned. To directly observe its effects on a typical thin superconducting specimen, we have modeled the simplest possible granular system by fabricating a single artificial weak-link in the center of a high-quality Nb film using the focused ion beam technique. Then, its microstructural, magnetic, and electric properties in both normal and superconducting states were studied. AC susceptibility, DC magnetization, and magneto-transport measurements reveal well-known granularity signatures and how they negatively affect superconductivity. Moreover, we also investigate the normal state electron scattering mechanisms in the Boltzmann theory framework. The results clearly demonstrate the effect of the milling technique, giving rise to an additional quadratic-in-temperature contribution to the usual cubic-in-temperature sd band scattering for the Nb film. Finally, by analyzing samples with varying density of incorporated defects, the emergence of the additional contribution is correlated to a decrease in their critical temperature, in agreement with recent theoretical results.
RESUMEN
This work presents an analysis of the functional derivative of the superconducting transition temperatureTcwith respect to the electron-phonon coupling functionα2F(ω) [δTc/δα2F(ω)] andα2F(ω) spectrum of H3S (Im3Ìm), in the pressure range where the high-Tcwas measured (155-225 GPa). The calculations are done in the framework of the Migdal-Eliashberg theory. We find for this electron-phonon superconductor, a correlation between the maximums ofδTc/δα2F(ω) andα2F(ω) with its higherTc. We corroborate this behavior in other electron-phonon superconductors by analyzing data available in the literature, which suggests its validity in this type of superconductors. The correlation observed could be considered as a theoretical tool that in an electron-phonon superconductor, allows describing qualitatively the proximity to its highestTc, and determining the optimal physical conditions (pressure, alloying or doping concentration) that lead to the superconductor reaching its highestTcpossible.
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Using the entropic quantifier called statistical complexity, we investigate the interplay between (1) pairing interactions between fermions, can be viewed as analogous with superconductivity based on Cooper pairs; (2) rotations of the system as a whole around an axis; and (3) thermal excitations. Two different ordering processes are at work: alignment and pairing of two fermions to total spin zero. They compete among themselves and with thermal disorder. A complex physics ensues as a consequence. The existence of novel phenomena is revealed by the behavior of the statistical complexity. In particular, it is seen how order can arise out of disorder in originating high-temperature superconductivity.