Mixed spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing can occur in noncentrosymmetric superconductors. In this respect, a comprehensive characterization of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor BeAu was carried out. It was established that BeAu undergoes a structural phase transition from a low-temperature noncentrosymmetric FeSi structure type to a high-temperature centrosymmetric structure in the CsCl type at T-s = 860 K. The low-temperature modification exhibits a superconducting transition below T-c = 3.3 K. The values of lower (H-c1 = 32 Oe) and upper (H-c2 = 335 Oe) critical fields are rather small, confirming that this type-II (kappa(G-L) = 2.3) weakly coupled (lambda(e-p) = 0.5, Delta C-e/gamma T-n(c) approximate to 1.26) superconductor can be well understood within the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. The muon spin relaxation analysis indicates that the time-reversal symmetry is preserved when the superconducting state is entered, supporting conventional superconductivity in BeAu. From the density functional band structure calculations, a considerable contribution of the Be electrons to the superconducting state was established. On average, a rather small mass renormalization was found, consistent with the experimental data

Precise measurements of the thermodynamic critical field (Bc) in type-I noncentrosymmetric superconductor BeAu were performed by means of the muon-spin rotation/relaxation technique. The temperature evolution of Bc can not be described within the single gap scenario and it requires the presence of at least two different types of the superconducting order parameters. The selfconsistent two-gap approach, adapted for analysis of Bc(T ) behavior, suggests the presence of two superconducing energy gaps with the gap to Tc ratios 2∆/kBTc 4.52 and 2.37 for the big and the small gap, respectively. This implies that the superconductivity in BeAu is unconventional and that the supercarrier pairing occurs at various energy bands.BeAu is an old known superconductor with the transition temperature T c 3.2 K. Superconductivity in BeAu was originally discovered by Matthias in 1959, 1 i.e. just in two years after the formulation of the BCS theory. 2 In this short report, Matthias was noted the absence of a superconductivity in a pure Be and Au (Be was later found to have T c 26 mK, Ref.3) and performed a search within the gold-rich site of the Be-Au phase diagram. The superconductivity was found to appear in a stoichiometric (i.e. 1:1 Be to Au ratio) BeAu sample. 1Recently, the interest to BeAu was renewed. [4][5][6][7][8] This mostly relates to the realisation of their noncentrosymmetric crystal structure, which was expected to give rise to unconventional superconductivity due to spin-orbit coupling and/or mixed singlet/triplet pairing state (see e.g. Refs. 9-16 and references therein). In addition, the B20 FeSi-type of the crystal structure of BeAu becomes particualry interesting since such materials were predicted to host chiral fermions in topological semimetals. [17][18][19] Moreover, B20 structure is the only known crystal structure for bulk magnetic skyrmions in materials such as MnSi, Fe 1−x Co x Si, FeGe, MnGe, Cu 2 OSeO 3 etc. [20][21][22][23][24] All these make BeAu an intriguing candidate material to search for unconventional superconductivity, associated with its noncentrosymmetric crystal structure in combination with the possible existence of exotic quasiparticles.

In search of the origin of superconductivity (SC) in diluted rhenium superconductors and their significantly enhanced T c compared to pure Be (0.026 K), we investigated the intermetallic ReBe 22 compound, mostly by means of muon-spin rotation/relaxation (μSR). At a macroscopic level, its bulk SC (with T c =9.4 K) was studied via electrical resistivity, magnetization, and heat-capacity measurements. The superfluid density, as determined from transverse-field μSR and electronic specific-heat measurements, suggest that ReBe 22 is a fully-gapped superconductor with some multigap features. The larger gap value, D = 1.78 l 0 T k B c , with a weight of almost 90%, is slightly higher than that expected from the BCS theory in the weak-coupling case. The multigap feature, rather unusual for an almost elemental superconductor, is further supported by the field-dependent specific-heat coefficient, the temperature dependence of the upper critical field, as well as by electronic bandstructure calculations. The absence of spontaneous magnetic fields below T c , as determined from zero-field μSR measurements, indicates a preserved time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting state of ReBe 22 . In general, we find that a dramatic increase in the density of states at the Fermi level and an increase in the electron-phonon coupling strength, both contribute to the highly enhanced T c value of ReBe 22 .

The recent discovery of a low-temperature endotherm upon heating hydrochloric-acid doped ice VI has sparked a vivid controversy. The two competing explanations aiming to explain its origin range from a new distinct crystalline phase of ice to deep-glassy states of the well-known ice VI.Problems with the slow kinetics of deuterated phases have been raised, which we circumvent here entirely by simultaneously measuring the inelastic neutron spectra and neutron diffraction data of H2O samples. These measurements clearly confirm the deep-glassy ice VI scenario and rule out alternative explanations. Additionally, we show that the crystallographic model of D2O ice XV, the ordered counterpart of ice VI, also applies to the corresponding H2O phase. The discovery of deep-glassy ice VI now provides a fascinating new example of ultra-stable glasses which are encountered across a wide range of other materials. TOC GRAPHICS

Semiconducting substances form one of the most important families of functional materials. However, semiconductors containing only metals are very rare. The chemical mechanisms behind their ground‐state properties are only partially understood. Our investigations have rather unexpectedly revealed the semiconducting behaviour (band gap of 190 meV) for the intermetallic compound Be5Pt formed at a very low valence‐electron count. Quantum‐chemical analysis shows strong charge transfer from Be to Pt and reveals a three‐dimensional entity of vertex‐condensed empty Be4 tetrahedrons with multi‐atomic cluster bonds interpenetrated by the framework of Pt‐filled vertex‐condensed Be4 tetrahedrons with two‐atomic polar Be−Pt bonds. The combination of strong Coulomb interactions with relativistic effects results in a band gap.