The discovery of superconductivity

Delft, Dirk van; Kes, P.H.

doi:10.1051/epn/2011104

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The macroscopic quantum mechanical state of superconductivity manages to fascinate even more than 100 years since its initial discovery by H. K. Onnes in mercury [1,2]. The ability to conduct current without resistance has led to important applications for example in medical technology and fundamental research where very high magnetic fields are required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery of orbital-selective Cooper pairing in FeSe

Sprau

Kostin

Kreisel

et al. 2017

Science

372

494

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FeSe is the focus of intense research interest because of its unusual non-magnetic nematic state and because it forms the basis for achieving the highest critical temperatures of any iron-based superconductor. However, its Cooper pairing mechanism has not been determined because an accurate knowledge of the momentum-space structure of superconducting energy gaps ∆ i ( k) on the different electron-bands E i ( k) does not exist. Here we use Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference (BQPI) imaging to determine the coherent Fermi surface geometry of the α-and ε-bands surrounding the Γ = (0, 0) and X = (π/a Fe , 0) points of FeSe, and to measure their superconducting energy gaps ∆ α ( k) and ∆ ε ( k).We show directly that both gaps are extremely anisotropic but nodeless, and are aligned along orthogonal crystal axes. Moreover, by implementing a novel technique we demonstrate the sign change between ∆ α ( k) and ∆ ε ( k). This complex configuration of ∆ α ( k) and ∆ ε ( k), which was unanticipated within pairing theories for FeSe, reveals a unique form of superconductivity based on orbital selective Cooper pairing of electrons from the d yz orbitals of iron atoms. This new paradigm of orbital selectivity may be pivotal to understanding the microscopic interplay of quantum paramagnetism, nematicity and high temperature superconductivity. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHPeter Oliver Sprau was born on June 13th 1986 in the small town of Kirchheimbolanden, Germany, where he completed both his primary and secondary education. Long before he was a physicist, Peter was an active member of the track and field team in his school and a local club, even going on to compete in the dash and relay event on the state and federal youth level. Upon finishing school, he fulfilled his civic duty and carried out his alternative civilian service in the hospital in Kirchheimbolanden. While Peter's academic interests were diverse, including not just science but also Latin and history, his natural curiosity about the world finally urged him to pursue a higher education in physics. Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever." I also want to acknowledge in no specific order the following people for useful discussions throughout my PhD:

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery of orbital-selective Cooper pairing in FeSe

Sprau

Kostin

Kreisel

et al. 2017

Science

372

494

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“…This lifted the early deception of Kamerlingh Onnes, who pioneeringly suggested high fields as the main application of superconductors [21]. He could not realize his dream because he was studying most simple elemental Pb and other type I materials, which lose superconductivity at very low magnetic fields [22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging superconducting vortex cores and lattices with a scanning tunneling microscope

Suderow¹,

Guillamón²,

Rodrigo³

et al. 2014

Supercond. Sci. Technol.

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Abstract. The observation of vortices in superconductors was a major breakthrough in developing the conceptual background for superconducting applications. Each vortex carries a flux quantum, and the magnetic field radially decreases from the center. Techniques used to make magnetic field maps, such as magnetic decoration, give vortex lattice images in a variety of systems. However, strong type II superconductors allow penetration of the magnetic field over large distances, of order of the magnetic penetration depth λ. Superconductivity survives up to magnetic fields where, for imaging purposes, there is no magnetic contrast at all. Static and dynamic properties of vortices are largely unknown at such high magnetic fields. Reciprocal space studies using neutron scattering have been employed to obtain insight into the collective behavior. But the microscopic details of vortex arrangements and their motion remain difficult to obtain. Direct real space visualization can be made using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/S). Instead of using magnetic contrast, the electronic density of states describes spatial variations of the quasiparticle and pair wavefunction properties. These are of order of the superconducting coherence length ξ, which is much smaller than λ. In principle, individual vortices can be imaged using STM up to the upper critical field where vortex cores, of size ξ, overlap. In this review, we describe recent advances in vortex imaging made with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. We introduce the technique and discuss vortex images which reveal the influence of the Fermi surface distribution of the superconducting gap on the internal structure of vortices, the collective behavior of the lattice in different materials and conditions, and the observation of vortex lattice melting. We consider challenging lines of work, which include imaging vortices in nanostructures, multiband and heavy fermion superconductors, single layers and van-der-Waals crystals, studying current driven dynamics and the liquid vortex phases.

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“…At the same time, the superconductivity science is very remarkable as an important object for the study in the framework of the history and methodology of science, since all the details are well documented and well-known to the community because of numerous interviews by participants including main heroes of the research and the fierce race for higher critical temperatures of the superconducting transition, T c . Moreover, the whole science has well-documented dates, starting from the epoch-making discovery of the superconducting transition by Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes in 1911 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], although minor details of this and, unfortunately, certain subsequent discoveries in the field were obscured [8][9][10][11]. As an illustrative example of a senseless dispute on the priority, one can mention the controversy between the recognition of Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) [12] and Bogoliubov [13] theories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%