We present a study of the upper critical field of the newly discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe 2 by magnetoresistivity measurements in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T and static magnetic fields up to 35 T. We show that superconductivity survives up to the metamagnetic transition at H m ≈ 35 T at low temperature. Above H m superconductivity is suppressed. At higher temperature superconductivity is enhanced under magnetic field leading to reentrance of superconductivity or an almost temperature independent increase of H c2 . By studying the angular dependence of the upper critical field close to the b axis (hard magnetization axis) we show that the maximum of the reentrant superconductivity temperature is depinned from the metamagnetic field. A key ingredient for the field-reinforcement of superconductivity on approaching H m appears to be an immediate interplay with magnetic fluctuations and a possible Fermi-surface reconstruction. 1 arXiv:1905.05181v1 [cond-mat.str-el]
Multiple superconducting order parameters are extremely rare. Here we show that a very small pressure can induce this phenomenon in the recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe2. This nearly ferromagnetic system shows several intriguing phenomena, including an extraordinary reinforcement of superconductivity in very strong magnetic fields. We find that pressure can tune the system to a more correlated state and probable magnetic order. The superconducting critical temperature is strongly enhanced, reaching almost 3K, a new record for Ce-and U-based heavy fermion superconductors. Most spectacularly under pressure we find a transition within the superconducting state, putting UTe2 among the very rare systems having multiple superconducting phases. UTe2 under pressure is a treasure trove of several of the most fascinating phenomena in unconventional superconductivity and may well be a keystone in their understanding.In most superconductors the superconducting order parameter is s-wave, meaning it has the same symmetry as the crystal lattice. However in the ever expanding family of unconventional superconductors, which includes such disparate members as high-Tc cuprates and pnictides, organic superconductors, and heavy fermions, the order parameter can assume a number of different symmetries, usually lower than the lattice symmetry. This opens the intriguing possibility that a given system could in principle exhibit different order parameters, each one being selected by changing an external variable like temperature or magnetic field. This scenario does in fact exist, but is extremely rare, having been really established only in superfluid 3 He[1] and in two superconductors: UPt3[2,3] and thorium-doped UBe13 [4]. The recently discovered superconductivity in the heavy fermion system UTe2 [5] shows several unusual properties, the most spectacular being re-entrant superconductivity when magnetic fields as high as 60 Tesla are applied in specific directions [6][7][8][9]. Another intriguing property is the temperature dependence of the specific heat. Indeed in all samples a large residual term, of about 50% of the normal state specific heat, seems to remain as the temperature approaches zero [5,6].In this report we show that the superconductivity is extremely sensitive to hydrostatic pressure as a tuning parameter and that UTe2 is probably another example of multiple superconducting phases. The superconducting state found at zero pressure is monotonously depressed with pressure but a second superconducting state is found to emerge as pressure is increased. Pressure increases the splitting between the 2 transitions and the high temperature superconducting transition reaches nearly 3K, a new record for a U-based heavy fermion superconductor. Pressure also drives the system towards a more correlated state, with evidence for a strong enhancement of the electronic effective mass. At a critical pressure of about 1.7 GPa both superconducting states are suppressed and a new order parameter, probably magnetic, is foun...
We report on the synthesis of superconducting single crystals of FeSe and their characterization by x-ray diffraction, magnetization and resistivity. We have performed ac susceptibility measurements under high pressure in a hydrostatic liquid argon medium up to 14 GPa and we find that T(C) increases up to 33-36 K in all samples, but with slightly different pressure dependences on different samples. Above 12 GPa no traces of superconductivity are found in any sample. We have also performed a room temperature high pressure x-ray diffraction study up to 12 GPa on a powder sample, and we find that, between 8.5 and 12 GPa, the tetragonal PbO structure undergoes a structural transition to a hexagonal structure. This transition results in a volume decrease of about 16% and is accompanied by the appearance of an intermediate, probably orthorhombic, phase.
We report on specific heat ͑C p ͒, transport, Hall probe, and penetration depth measurements performed on Fe͑Se 0.5 Te 0.5 ͒ single crystals ͑T c ϳ 14 K͒. The thermodynamic upper critical field H c2 lines has been deduced from C p measurements up to 28 T for both H ʈ c and H ʈ ab, and compared to the lines deduced from transport measurements ͑up to 55 T in pulsed magnetic fields͒. We show that this thermodynamic H c2 line presents a very strong downward curvature for T → T c which is not visible in transport measurements. This temperature dependence associated to an upward curvature of the field dependence of the Sommerfeld coefficient confirms that H c2 is limited by paramagnetic effects. Surprisingly this paramagnetic limit is visible here up to T / T c ϳ 0.99 ͑for H ʈ ab͒ which is the consequence of a very small value of the coherence length c ͑0͒ϳ4 Å ͓and ab ͑0͒ϳ15 Å͔, confirming the strong renormalization of the effective mass ͑as compared to DMFT calculations͒ previously observed in ARPES measurements ͓A. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 097002 ͑2010͔͒. H c1 measurements lead to ab ͑0͒ = 430Ϯ 50 nm and c ͑0͒ = 1600Ϯ 200 nm and the corresponding anisotropy is approximatively temperature independent ͑ϳ4͒, being close to the anisotropy of H c2 for T → T c . The temperature dependence of both ͑ϰT 2 ͒ and the electronic contribution to the specific heat confirm the nonconventional coupling mechanism in this system.
We present magnetoresistivity measurements on the heavy-fermion superconductor UTe 2 in pulsed magnetic fields µ 0 H up to 68 T and temperatures T from 1.4 to 80 K. Magnetic fields applied along the three crystallographic directions a (easy magnetic axis), b, and c (hard magnetic axes), are found to induce different phenomena -depending on the field direction -beyond the low-field suppression of the superconducting state. For H a, a broad anomaly in the resistivity is observed at µ 0 H * 10 T and T = 1.4 K. For H c, no magnetic transition nor crossover are observed. For H b, a sharp first-order-like step in the resistivity indicates a metamagnetic transition at the field µ 0 H m 35 T. When the temperature is raised signature of first-order metamagnetism is observed up to a critical endpoint at T CEP 7 K. At higher temperatures a crossover persists up to 28 K, i.e., below the temperature T max χ = 35 K where the magnetic susceptibility is maximal. A sharp maximum in the Fermi-liquid quadratic coefficient A of the low-temperature resistivity is found at H m . It indicates an enhanced effective mass associated with critical magnetic fluctuations, possibly coupled with a Fermi surface instability. Similarly to the URhGe case, we show that UTe 2 is a candidate for field-induced reentrant superconductivity in the proximity of H m .
Experimental evidence of a nonvolatile electric-pulse-induced insulator-to-metal transition and possible superconductivity in the Mott insulator GaTa4 Se8 is reported. Scanning tunneling microscopy experiments show that this unconventional response of the system to short electric pulses arises from a nanometer-scale electronic phase separation generated in the bulk material.
We performed AC calorimetry and magnetoresistance measurements under pressure for H a-axis (easymagnetization axis) in the novel heavy-fermion superconductor UTe 2 . Thanks to the thermodynamic information, multiple superconducting phases have been revealed under pressure and magnetic field. The (H, T ) phase diagram of superconductivity under pressure displays an abrupt increase of the upper critical field (H c2 ) at low temperature and in the high field region, and a strong convex curvature of H c2 at high temperature. This behavior of H c2 and the multiple superconducting phases require a state for the spin-triplet superconducting order parameter more complex than an equal spin pairing. Above the superconducting critical pressure, P c , we find strong indications that the possible magnetic order is closer to antiferromagnetism than to ferromagnetism.The recently discovered heavy-fermion superconductivity (SC) in UTe 2 attracts much attention, 1, 2) because spin-triplet SC is most likely realized in this system, lying at the proximity of ferromagnetic (FM) order. SC coexisting microscopically with long-range FM order is already well studied 3, 4) in three uranium compounds, UGe 2 , 5) URhGe 6) and UCoGe. 7) Because of the strong internal field due to the FM moment, spin-triplet state with equal-spin pairing (ESP) is favoured. In this case, SC can survive even under strong internal exchange field. Furthermore SC can be even reinforced at high magnetic field (H), pressure (P) and uniaxial stress by tuning the FM fluctuations. When the field is applied along the intermediate hard-magnetization axis (b-axis) in URhGe and UCoGe, the FM Curie temperature is suppressed, and the FM fluctuations are remarkably enhanced. Then field-reentrant (-reinforced) SC is observed at high fields, which highly exceeds the socalled Pauli limit. 8,9) A quite similar situation might be also realized in UTe 2 . UTe 2 is a paramagnet with a body-centered orthorhombic crystal structure (space group: Immm, #71, D 25 2h ). The large Sommerfeld coefficient, γ ∼ 120 mJ K −2 mol −1 , indicates strong correlations in the electronic states. 10) The magnetization curves show a relatively large anisotropy between the easy-magnetization axis (a-axis) and the hard-magnetization axes (b and c-axes). The b-axis is the hardest magnetization axis at low temperatures; the magnetization curve shows sharp 1st order metamagnetic transition at H m = 35 T, where the effective mass is strongly enhanced. [11][12][13] The value of H m is well scaled by T χ max (∼ 35 K), at which a broad maximum of susceptibility χ is observed at low field.The SC properties of UTe 2 are spectacular. The SC transition occurs at T sc = 1.6 K with the large specific heat jump. The residual γ-value amounts to ∼ 40 % against the normal state γ-value for the best quality sample, 14) and the entropy balance is not satisfied, assuming a constant γ-value extrapolated from the normal state above T sc . Strong electronic correlations are dominant in this system, which is also indirectly con...
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