arXiv subjects

C. Meingast

Publications and source records attributed to C. Meingast.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Trends in Heavy Fermion Matter

A brief review on major advances in heavy fermion physics is presented including the Ce metal phase diagram, the huge effective mass detected in CeAl3, and the successive discoveries of unconventional superconductivity in CeCu2Si2 and three U based compounds, UBe13, UPt3 and URu2Si2. In order to track the origin of the huge effective mass, the case of intermediate valence compounds is discussed with emphasis of the differences between Yb and Ce materials. The formation of the effective mass is analyzed by two regular- and singular-part contributions. Examples are given for both, antiferromagnetic (CeRu2Si2 series) and ferromagnetic tricriticalities (UGe2). Pressure and magnetic-field studies on the ferromagnetic superconductor URhGe illustrate the role of the singular effective mass enhancement on the superconducting pairing. The discovery of the Ce-115 material gives the opportunity to study deeply the interplay of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. This is clearly demonstrated by field re-entrance AF inside the SC phase just below the superconducting upper critical field (Hc2) for CeCoIn5 or on both side of Hc2 within a restricted pressure window for CeRhIn5. The present status of the search for the hidden-order parameter of URu2Si2 is given and we emphasize that it may correspond to a lattice unit-cell doubling which leads to a drastic change in the band structure and spin dynamic, with the possibility of competition between multipolar ordering and antiferromagnetism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Doping evolution of superconducting gaps and electronic densities of states in Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 iron pnictides

An extensive calorimetric study of the normal- and superconducting-state properties of Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 is presented for 0 < x < 0.2. The normal-state Sommerfeld coefficient increases (decreases) with Co doping for x < 0.06 (x > 0.06), which illustrates the strong competition between magnetism and superconductivity to monopolize the Fermi surface in the underdoped region and the filling of the hole bands for overdoped Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2. All superconducting samples exhibit a residual electronic density of states of unknown origin in the zero-temperature limit, which is minimal at optimal doping but increases to the normal-state value in the strongly under- and over-doped regions. The remaining specific heat in the superconducting state is well described using a two-band model with isotropic s-wave superconducting gaps.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Calorimetric Evidence of Multiband Superconductivity in Ba(Fe0.925Co0.075)2As2

We report on the determination of the electronic heat capacity of a slightly overdoped (x = 0.075) Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 single crystal with a Tc of 21.4 K. Our analysis of the temperature dependence of the superconducting-state specific heat provides strong evidence for a two-band s-wave order parameter with gap amplitudes 2D1(0)/kBTc=1.9 and 2D2(0)/kBTc=4.4. Our result is consistent with the recently predicted s+- order parameter [I. I. Mazin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 057003 (2008)].

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Resistivity of Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Si single crystals: Evidence for quantum critical behavior

Resistivity measurements have been made on Mn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$Si single crystals between 2 and 300K for $x$ = 0, 0.05, 0.08, 0.12 and 0.15. Fe doping is found to depress the magnetic ordering temperature from 30K for $x$ = 0 to below 2K for $x$ = 0.15. Although Fe doping results in a large increase of the low-temperature residual resistivity, the temperature dependence of the resistivity above the magnetic transition remains practically unaffected by increasing Fe content. An analysis of the temperature derivative of the resistivity provides strong evidence for the existence of a non-Fermi-liquid ground state near $x$ = 0.15 and thus for a quantum critical point tuned by Fe content.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Ferromagnetism and Lattice Distortions in the Perovskite YTiO$_3$

The thermodynamic properties of the ferromagnetic perovskite YTiO$_3$ are investigated by thermal expansion, magnetostriction, specific heat, and magnetization measurements. The low-temperature spin-wave contribution to the specific heat, as well as an Arrott plot of the magnetization in the vicinity of the Curie temperature $T_C\simeq27$ K, are consistent with a three-dimensional Heisenberg model of ferromagnetism. However, a magnetic contribution to the thermal expansion persists well above $T_C$, which contrasts with typical three-dimensional Heisenberg ferromagnets, as shown by a comparison with the corresponding model system EuS. The pressure dependences of $T_C$ and of the spontaneous moment $M_s$ are extracted using thermodynamic relationships. They indicate that ferromagnetism is strengthened by uniaxial pressures $\mathbf{p}\parallel \mathbf{a}$ and is weakened by uniaxial pressures $\mathbf{p}\parallel \mathbf{b},\mathbf{c}$ and hydrostatic pressure. Our results show that the distortion along the $a$- and $b$-axes is further increased by the magnetic transition, confirming that ferromagnetism is favored by a large GdFeO$_3$-type distortion. The c-axis results however do not fit into this simple picture, which may be explained by an additional magnetoelastic effect, possibly related to a Jahn-Teller distortion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Heat Capacity and Magnetic Phase Diagram of the Low-Dimensional Antiferromagnet Y$_2$BaCuO$_5$

A study by specific heat of a polycrystalline sample of the low-dimensional magnetic system Y$_2$BaCuO$_5$ is presented. Magnetic fields up to 14 T are applied and permit to extract the ($T$,$H$) phase diagram. Below $μ_0H^*\simeq2$ T, the Néel temperature, associated with a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic long-range ordering, is constant and equals $T_N=15.6$ K. Above $H^*$, $T_N$ increases linearly with $H$ and a field-induced increase of the entropy at $T_N$ is related to the presence of an isosbestic point at $T_X\simeq20$ K, where all the specific heat curves cross. A comparison is made between Y$_2$BaCuO$_5$ and the quasi-two-dimensional magnetic systems BaNi$_{2}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$, Sr$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$, and Pr$_2$CuO$_4$, for which very similar phase diagrams have been reported. An effective field-induced magnetic anisotropy is proposed to explain these phase diagrams.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Critical Scaling of the Magnetization and Magnetostriction in the Weak Itinerant Ferromagnet UIr

The weak itinerant ferromagnet UIr is studied by magnetization and magnetostriction measurements. Critical behavior, which surprisingly extends up to several Tesla, is observed at the Curie temperature $T_C\simeq45$ K and is analyzed using Arrott and Maxwell relations. Critical exponents are found that do not match with any of the well-known universality classes. The low-temperature magnetization $M_s\simeq0.5$ $μ_B \cong const.$ below 3 T rises towards higher fields and converges asymptotically around 50 T with the magnetization at $T_C$. From the magnetostriction and magnetization data, we extract the uniaxial pressure dependences of $T_C$, using a new method presented here, and of $M_s$. These results should serve as a basis for understanding spin fluctuations in anisotropic itinerant ferromagnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Importance of In-Plane Anisotropy in the Quasi Two-Dimensional Antiferromagnet BaNi$_{2}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$

The phase diagram of the quasi two-dimensional antiferromagnet BaNi$_{2}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$ is studied by specific heat, thermal expansion, magnetostriction, and magnetization for magnetic fields applied perpendicular to $\mathbf{c}$. At $μ_0H^{*}\simeq1.5$ T, a crossover to a high-field state, where $T_N(H)$ increases linearly, arises from a competition of intrinsic and field-induced in-plane anisotropies. The pressure dependences of $T_N$ and $H^{*}$ are interpreted using the picture of a pressure-induced in-plane anisotropy. Even at zero field and ambient pressure, in-plane anisotropy cannot be neglected, which implies deviations from pure Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Thermal expansion of the quasi two-dimensional magnetic layered compound BaNi$_{2}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$ under magnetic fields along c-axis

The quasi two-dimensional magnetic BaNi$_{2}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$ is studied by using high-resolution thermal expansion in magnetic fields up to 10 T applied along the c-axis. A slight increase of about 1 % of the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic ordering temperature $T_N$ is observed at 10 T. Positive and negative pressure dependencies of $T_N$, respectively, are inferred from the thermal expansion $α(T)$ for pressures applied along the $a$- and $c$-axes.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Superconductivity mediated by a soft phonon mode: specific heat, resistivity, thermal expansion and magnetization of YB6

The superconductor YB6 has the second highest critical temperature Tc among the boride family MBn. We report measurements of the specific heat, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and thermal expansion from 2 to 300 K, using a single crystal with Tc = 7.2 K. The superconducting gap is characteristic of medium-strong coupling. The specific heat, resistivity and expansivity curves are deconvolved to yield approximations of the phonon density of states, the spectral electron-phonon scattering function and the phonon density of states weighted by the frequency-dependent Grueneisen parameter respectively. Lattice vibrations extend to high frequencies >100 meV, but a dominant Einstein-like mode at ~8 meV, associated with the vibrations of yttrium ions in oversized boron cages, appears to provide most of the superconducting coupling and gives rise to an unusual temperature behavior of several observable quantities. A surface critical field Hc3 is also observed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and thermal expansion of the superconductor ZrB12

In an attempt to clarify conflicting published data, we report new measurements of specific heat, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and thermal expansivity up to room temperature for the 6 K superconductor ZrB12, using well-characterized single crystals with a residual resistivity ratio >9. The specific heat gives the bulk result 2*delta(0)/(k_B*Tc)=3.7 for the superconducting gap ratio, and excludes multiple gaps and d-wave symmetry for the Cooper pairs. The Sommerfeld constant gamma_n = 0.34 mJ K-2 gat-1 and the magnetic susceptibility xsi = -2.1 x 10^-5 indicate a low density of states at the Fermi level. The Debye temperature theta_D is in the range 1000-1200 K near zero and room temperature, but decreases by a factor of ~2 at ~35 K. The specific heat and resistivity curves are inverted to yield approximations of the phonon density of states F(omega) and the spectral electron-phonon scattering function alpha_tr^2 F(omega), respectively. Both unveil a 15 meV mode, attributed to Zr vibrations in oversized B cages, which gives rise to electron-phonon coupling. The thermal expansivity further shows that this mode is anharmonic, while the vanishingly small discontinuity at Tc establishes that the cell volume is nearly optimal with respect to Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Two Pseudogaps in the Cuprates: Meingast et al. Reply

In classical superconductors Cooper-pair formation and phase coherence occur simultaneously as the temperature is lowered below Tc. In high-temperature superconductors (HTSC), on the other hand, the small superfluid density and low associated phase stiffness of the superconducting condensate are expected to lead to a separation of the Cooper-pair formation and the phase-coherence temperatures, especially in underdoped materials [3]. The only real phase transition in this scenario is the 3d-XY phase-ordering transition at Tc [3,4]. In our Letter [2] we showed that Tc in underdoped and optimally doped YBCO is just such a phase-ordering temperature, and then the question naturally arises - where do the Cooper pairs form? The observed 3d-XY scaling of our thermal expansion data over a wide temperature range [2] suggests that pairing occurs at temperatures considerably above Tc, and it thus appeared quite natural for us to associate the opening of the pseudogap at T*.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

High-Resolution Thermal Expansion of MgB2

The thermal expansion of polycrystalline MgB2 from 5-300 K is studied using high-resolution capacitance dilatometry. The thermal expansivity exhibits a small jump of -5.8x10-8 K-1 at Tc (in accord with expectations from the Ehrenfest relationship and published specific heat and pressure data) and a negative peak-like feature close to 5 K. No indications of any structural instabilities are observed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Crystal-lattice coupling to the vortex-melting transition in YBa2Cu3O7-d

Distinct discontinuities in the thermal expansion of the crystal lattice are observed at the melting-transition of the vortex lattice in a naturally untwinned reversible YBa2Cu3O7-d-single crystal using high-resolution dilatometry. This coupling between the vortex transition and the crystal lattice demonstrates that the crystal lattice is more than a mere host for the vortices, and it is attributed to a strong pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature and thus to the condensation energy at the vortex melting temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Magnetic-field-induced finite-size effect in the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-a comparison to rotating superfluid 4 He

The effect of strong magnetic fields (11 T) on superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O7-d is investigated using high-resolution thermal expansion. We show that the field-induced broadening of the superconducting transition is due to a finite-size effect resulting from the field-induced vortex-vortex length scale. The physics of this broadening has recently been elucidated for the closely related case of rotating superfluid 4 He [R. Haussmann, Phys. Rev. B60, 12373 (1999)]. Our results imply that the primary effect of magnetic fields of the order of 10 T is to destroy the phase coherence; the pairing, on the other hand, appears to be quite insensitive to these fields.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

Phase fluctuations and the pseudogap in YBa2Cu3Ox

The thermodynamics of the superconducting transition is studied as a function of doping using high-resolution expansivity data of YBa2Cu3Ox single crystals and Monte-Carlo simulations of the anisotropic 3D-XY model. We directly show that Tc of underdoped YBa2Cu3Ox is strongly suppressed from its mean-field value (Tc-MF) by phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter. For overdoped YBa2Cu3Ox fluctuation effects are greatly reduced and Tc ~ Tc-MF . We find that Tc-MF exhibits a similar doping dependence as the pseudogap energy, naturally suggesting that the pseudogap arises from phase-incoherent Cooper pairing.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Intermolecular bond stability of C60 dimers and 2D pressure-polymerized C60

The thermal stability of C60 dimers and 2D pressure-polymerized C60 is studied using high-resolution capacitance dilatometry. The transformation of both the dimer and the polymer phases back to 'normal' C60 is excellently described by a simple thermally activated process, with activation energies of 1.75 1 0.1 eV (dimer) and 1.9 1 0.2 eV (polymer). These results are compared to previous data of 1D-polymerized C60 and photo-polymerized C60. The thermal expansivity of the 2D-polymer phase is as much as a factor of ten smaller than that of pure C60 and approaches values for diamond.

cond-mat↗