A sensitive probe of unconventional order is its response to a symmetry-breaking field. To probe the proposed p(x) ± ip(y) topological superconducting state of Sr2RuO4, we have constructed an apparatus capable of applying both compressive and tensile strains of up to 0.23%. Strains applied along ⟨100⟩ crystallographic directions yield a strong, strain-symmetric increase in the superconducting transition temperature T(c). ⟨110⟩ strains give a much weaker, mostly antisymmetric response. As well as advancing the understanding of the superconductivity of Sr2RuO4, our technique has potential applicability to a wide range of problems in solid-state physics.

We present de Haas-van Alphen and resistivity data on single crystals of the delafossite PdCoO(2). At 295 K we measure an in-plane resistivity of 2.6  μΩ cm, making PdCoO(2) the most conductive oxide known. The low-temperature in-plane resistivity has an activated rather than the usual T(5) temperature dependence, suggesting a gapping of effective scattering that is consistent with phonon drag. Below 10 K, the transport mean free path is ∼20  μm, approximately 10(5) lattice spacings and an astoundingly high value for flux-grown crystals. We discuss the origin of these properties in light of our data.