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M. B. Maple

Publications and source records attributed to M. B. Maple.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Multi-symmetry and Multi-band Superconductivity in Filled-skutterudites PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$ and PrRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$

Thermal conductivity measurements were performed on single crystal samples of the superconducting filled skutterudite compounds PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$ and PrRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$ both as a function of temperature and magnetic field applied perpendicular to the heat current. In zero magnetic field, the low temperature electronic thermal conductivity of PrRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$ is vanishingly small, consistent with a fully-gapped Fermi surface. For PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$, however, we find clear evidence for residual electronic conduction as the temperature tends to zero Kelvin which is consistent with the presence of nodes in the superconducting energy gap. The field dependence of the electronic conductivity for both compounds shows a rapid rise immediately above H$_{c1}$ and significant structure over the entire vortex state. In the fully gapped superconductor PrRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$, this is interpreted in terms of multi-band effects. In PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$, we consider the Doppler shift of nodal quasiparticles at low fields and multiband effects at higher fields.

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Doping Dependence of Vortex Regimes in Y$_{1-x}$Pr$_{x}$Ba$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ Single Crystals

Magnetic relaxation measurements on a series of Y$_{1-x}$Pr$_{x}$Ba$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-δ}$ ($x = 0.13, 0.34, 0.47$) single crystals were performed over a large field and temperature range in order to investigate the characteristics of the vortex matter across the second magnetization peak (SMP). The magnitude of the SMP varies non-monotonically with the Pr concentration; i.e., the irreversible magnetization normalized by its value at the onset field $H_{on}$ displays a maximum for the $x = 0.34$ single crystal. The two characteristic fields, $H_{on}$ and $H_{sp}$, follow different temperature $T$ dependences: $H_{on} \propto T^{ν_{on}}$ and $H_{sp} \propto [1-(T/T_{c})^{2}]^{ν_{sp}}$. The extracted values of the apparent activation energy $U^\ast$ and the creep exponent $μ$ display a maximum at a field $H_{on} < H^\ast < H_{sp}$. Their field dependences point toward the coexistence of both elastic and plastic creep for $H > H_{on}$. The degree of participation of each creep mechanism is determined by the charge carrier density, which controls both the elastic properties of the vortex matter and the pinning potential.

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Pairing Symmetry of CeCoIn$_5$ Detected by In-plane Torque Measurements

In-plane torque measurements were performed on heavy fermion CeCoIn$_5$ single crystals in the temperature $T$ range 1.8 K $\leq T \leq 10$ K and applied magnetic field $H$ up to 14 T. The normal-state torque is given by $τ_n \propto H^4(1+T/T_K)^{-1}\sin 4ϕ$. The reversible part of the mixed-state torque, obtained after subtracting the corresponding normal state torque, shows also a four-fold symmetry. In addition, sharp peaks are present in the irreversible torque at angles of $π/$4, 3$π$/4, 5$π$/4, 7$π$/4, etc. Both the four-fold symmetry in the reversible torque and the sharp peaks in the irreversible torque of the mixed state imply $d_{xy}$ symmetry of the superconducting order parameter. The field and temperature dependences of the reversible mixed-state torque provide further evidence for $d_{xy}$ wave symmetry. The four-fold symmetry in the normal state has a different origin since it has different field and temperature dependences than the one in the mixed state. The possible reasons of the normal state four-fold symmetry are discussed.

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Nonlinear paramagnetic magnetization in the mixed state of CeCoIn_5

Torque and magnetization measurements in magnetic fields $H$ up to 14 T were performed on CeCoIn$_5$ single crystals. The amplitude of the paramagnetic torque shows an $H^{2.3}$ dependence in the mixed state and an $H^{2}$ dependence in the normal state. In addition, the mixed-state magnetizations for both $H\parallel c$ and $H\parallel ab$ axes show anomalous behavior after the subtraction of the corresponding paramagnetic contributions as linear extrapolations of the normal-state magnetization. These experimental results point towards a nonlinear paramagnetic magnetization in the mixed state of CeCoIn$_5$, which is a result of the fact that both orbital and Pauli limiting effects dominate in the mixed state.

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Non-Fermi liquid behavior in a fluctuating valence system, the filled skutterudite compound CeRu_{4}As_{12}

Electrical resistivity $ρ$, specific heat C, and magnetic susceptibility $χ$ measurements made on the filled skutterudite CeRu_4As_{12} reveal non-Fermi liquid (NFL) T - dependences at low T, i.e., $ρ$(T) $\sim$ T^{1.4} and weak power law or logarithmic divergences in C(T)/T and $χ$(T). Measurements also show that the T - dependence of the thermoelectric power S(T) deviates from that seen in other Ce systems. The NFL behavior appears to be associated with fluctuations of the Ce valence between 3^+ and 4^+ rather than a typical Kondo lattice scenario that would be appropriate for an integral Ce valence of 3^+.

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Competing Ordered Phases in URu2Si2: Hydrostatic Pressure and Re-substitution

A persistent kink in the pressure dependence of the \hidden order" (HO) transition temperature of URu2-xRexSi2 is observed at a critical pressure Pc=15 kbar for 0 < x < 0.08. In URu2Si2, the kink at Pc is accompanied by the destruction of superconductivity; a change in the magnitude of a spin excitation gap, determined from electrical resistivity measurements; and a complete gapping of a portion of the Fermi surface (FS), inferred from a change in scattering and the competition between the HO state and superconductivity for FS fraction.

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Multiband superconductivity and penetration depth in PrOs4Sb12

The effective superconducting penetration depth measured in the vortex state of PrOs4Sb12 using transverse-field muon spin rotation (TF-muSR) exhibits an activated temperature dependence at low temperatures, consistent with a nonzero gap for quasiparticle excitations. In contrast, Meissner-state radiofrequency (rf) inductive measurements of the penetration depth yield a T^2 temperature dependence, suggestive of point nodes in the gap. A scenario based on the recent discovery of extreme two-band superconductivity in PrOs4Sb12 is proposed to resolve this difference. In this picture a large difference between large- and small-gap coherence lengths renders the field distribution in the vortex state controlled mainly by supercurrents from a fully-gapped large-gap band. In zero field all bands contribute, yielding a stronger temperature dependence to the rf inductive measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Muon spin relaxation and hyperfine-enhanced 141Pr nuclear spin dynamic in Pr(Os,Ru)4Sb12 and (Pr,La)Os4Sb12

Zero- and longitudinal-field muon spin relaxation (MuSR) experiments have been carried out in the alloy series Pr(Os1-xRux)4Sb12 and Pr1-yLayOs4Sb12 to elucidate the anomalous dynamic muon spin relaxation observed in these materials. The damping rate associated with this relaxation varies with temperature, applied magnetic field, and dopant concentrations x and y in a manner consistent with the ``hyperfine enhancement'' of 141Pr nuclear spins first discussed by Bleaney in 1973. This mechanism arises from Van Vleck-like admixture of magnetic Pr3+ crystalline-electric-field-split excited states into the nonmagnetic singlet ground state by the nuclear hyperfine coupling, thereby increasing the strengths of spin-spin interactions between 141Pr and muon spins and within the 141Pr spin system. We find qualitative agreement with this scenario, and conclude that electronic spin fluctuations are not directly involved in the dynamic muon spin relaxation.

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A de Haas-van Alphen study of the filled skutterudite compounds PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ and LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$

Comprehensive magnetic-field-orientation dependent studies of the susceptibility and de Haas-van Alphen effect have been carried out on single crystals of the filled skutterudites PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ and LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ using magnetic fields of up to 40~T. Several peaks are observed in the low-field susceptibility of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$, corresponding to cascades of metamagnetic transitions separating the low-field antiferromagnetic and high-field paramagnetic metal (PMM) phases. The de Haas-van Alphen experiments show that the Fermi-surface topologies of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ in its PMM phase and LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ are very similar. In addition, they are in reasonable agreement with the predictions of bandstructure calculations for LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ on the PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ lattice. Both observations suggest that the Pr 4$f$ electrons contribute little to the number of itinerant quasiparticles in the PMM phase. However, whilst the properties of LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ suggest a conventional nonmagnetic Fermi liquid, the effects of direct exchange and electron correlations are detected in the PMM phase of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$. For example, the quasiparticle effective masses in PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ are found to decrease with increasing field, probably reflecting the gradual suppression of magnetic fluctuations associated with proximity to the low-temperature, low-field antiferromagnetic state.

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Scaling Behavior of Angular Dependent Resistivity in CeCoIn$_5$: Possible Evidence for d-Wave Density Waves

In-plane angular dependent resistivity ADR was measured in the non-Fermi liquid regime of CeCoIn$_5$ single crystals at temperatures $T \le 20$ K and in magnetic fields $H$ up to 14 T. Two scaling behaviors were identified in low field region where resistivity shows T-linear dependence, separated by a critical angle $θ_{c}$ which is determined by the anisotropy of CeCoIn$_5$; i.e., ADR depends only on the perpendicular (parallel) field component below (above) $θ_c$. These scaling behaviors and other salient features of ADR are consistent with d-wave density waves.

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Angular Dependent Torque Measurements on CeCoIn$_5$ Single Crystals

Angular dependent torque measurements were performed on single crystals of CeCoIn$_5$, a heavy fermion superconductor ($T_{c0}$ = 2.3 K), in the temperature, $T$, range 1.9 K $\leq T \leq $ 20 K and magnetic fields $H$ up to 14 T. A large paramagnetic effect is found in the normal state. Torque measurements in the mixed state were also performed. The torque curves show sharp hysteresis peaks at $θ= 90^{o}$ ($θ$ is the angle between $H$ and the $c-$axis of the crystal), a result of intrinsic pinning of vortices. The anisotropy $γ\equiv \sqrt{m_{c}/m_{a}}$ in the mixed state was determined from the reversible part of the vortex contribution to the torque signal using Kogan's model [Phys. Rev. B \textbf{38}, 7049 (1988)]. The anisotropy $γ$ decreases with increasing magnetic field and temperature. The fact that $γ$ is not a constant points towards a multiband scenario in this heavy fermion material.

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High Temperature Mixed State $c-$Axis Dissipation in Low Carrier Density $Y_{0.54}Pr_{0.46}Ba_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ}$

The nature of the out-of-plane dissipation was investigated in underdoped $Y_{0.54}Pr_{0.46}Ba_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ}$ single crystals at temperatures close to the critical temperature. For this goal, temperature and angle dependent out-of-plane resistivity measurements were carried out both below and above the critical temperature. We found that the Ambegaokar-Halperin relationship [V. Ambegaokar, and B. I. Halperin, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{22}, 1364 (1969)] depicts very well the angular magnetoresistivity in the investigated range of field and temperature. The main finding is that the in-plane phase fluctuations decouple the layers above the critical temperature and the charge transport is governed only by the quasiparticles. We also have calculated the interlayer Josephson critical current density, which was found to be much smaller than the one predicted by the theory of layered superconductors. This discrepancy could be a result of the d-wave symmetry of the order parameter and/or of the non BCS temperature dependence of the c-axis penetration length.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Multiple ordered phases in the filled skutterudite compound PrOs$_{4}$As$_{12}$

Magnetization, specific heat, and electrical resistivity measurements were made on single crystals of the filled skutterudite compound PrOs$_{4}$As$_{12}$. Specific heat measurements indicate an electronic specific heat coefficient $γ$ $\sim 50-200$ mJ/mol K$^{2}$ at temperatures 10 K $\leq T \leq 18$ K, and $\sim 1$ J/mol K$^{2}$ for $T \leq 1.6$ K. Magnetization, specific heat, and electrical resistivity measurements reveal the presence of two, or possibly three, ordered phases at temperatures below $\sim 2.3$ K and in fields below $\sim 3$ T. The low temperature phase displays antiferromagnetic characteristics, while the nature of the ordering in the other phase(s) has yet to be determined.

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Heavy fermion fluid in high magnetic fields: an infrared study of CeRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$

We report a comprehensive infrared magneto-spectroscopy study of CeRu$_4$Sb$_{12}$ compound revealing quasiparticles with heavy effective mass m$^*$, with a detailed analysis of optical constants in fields up to 17 T. We find that the applied magnetic field strongly affects the low energy excitations in the system. In particular, the magnitude of m$^*$ $\simeq$ 70 m$_b$ (m$_b$ is the quasiparticle band mass) at 10 K is suppressed by as much as 25 % at 17 T. This effect is in quantitative agreement with the mean-field solution of the periodic Anderson model augmented with a Zeeman term.

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Double superconducting transition and low-temperature specific heat study of Pr(Os$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_4$Sb$_{12}$

The double superconducting transition in PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$, first observed in specific heat $C(T)$ measurements of single crystal samples, is the subject of an in-depth study. The double superconducting transitions of a batch of single crystals were measured before and after they were annealed for 5 days at $500^{\circ}$C, with no observed change. $C(T)$ measurements near $T_c$ for PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$ in several magnetic fields are also presented, detailing the evolution of the double transition up to 1 T. Samples of Pr(Os$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_4$Sb$_{12}$ with $0.01 \leq x \leq 0.04$ also appear to display a double superconducting transition in specific heat. In addition, samples with the smallest Ru concentration measured ($x=0.01$) may even display a different type of superconductivity than pure PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$ ($x=0$).

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Universal Critical Dynamic Form of the Vortex-Lattice Melting Line

A modified form of the vortex-lattice melting line is arrived at by incorporating the effects of critical behavior at the melting transition. Beginning with the universal form established by Blatter and Ivlev [Physical Review Letters 70, 2621 (1993)] which includes both thermal and quantum fluctuations, we then use the vortex relaxation time of a vortex-glass with a finite transition temperature that follows from the scaling theory of Fisher, Fisher, and Huse [Physical Review B, 43, 130 (1991)]. This new form of the melting line is demonstrated to fit over the entire melting line of Y(1-x)Pr(x)Ba2Cu3O6.97 (x = 0 - 0.4) samples within the temperature range 0.03 < T/Tc < 1 (H < 45 tesla) implying no crossover in dynamics from 3D to 2D. Generically it can be seen that a change in dimensionality of the vortex fluctuations along the melting line must be accompanied by a corresponding change in the critical exponents nu and z. Such a change is observed for the highly anisotropic cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8.

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Susceptibility inhomogeneity and non-Fermi liquid behavior in UCu_{5-x}Pt_x

Transverse-field muSR shifts and relaxation rates have been measured in the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) alloy system UCu_{5-x}Pt_x, x = 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5. At low temperatures the fractional spread in Knight shifts delta K/K approx deltachi/chi is gtrsim 2 for x = 1, but is only half this value for x = 1.5 and 2.5. In a disorder-driven scenario where the NFL behavior is due to a broadly distributed (Kondo or Griffiths-phase cluster) characteristic energy E, our results indicate that delta E/E_{rm av} approx (delta K/K)_{T=0} is similar for UCu_{5-x}Pd_x (x = 1 and 1.5) and UCu_4Pt, but is reduced for UCu_{5-x}Pt_x, x = 1.5 and 2.5. This reduction is due to a marked increase of E with increasing x; the spread delta E is found to be roughly independent of x. Our results correlate with the observed suppression of other NFL anomalies for x > 1 in UCu_{5-x}Pt_x but not in UCu_{5-x}Pd_x, and are further evidence for the importance of disorder in the NFL behavior of both these alloy systems.

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Effect of annealing on glassy dynamics and non-Fermi liquid behavior in UCu_4Pd

Longitudinal-field muon spin relaxation (LF-muSR) experiments have been performed in unannealed and annealed samples of the heavy-fermion compound UCu_4Pd to study the effect of disorder on non-Fermi liquid behavior in this material. The muon spin relaxation functions G(t,H) obey the time-field scaling relation G(t,H) = G(t/H^gamma) previously observed in this compound. The observed scaling exponent gamma = 0.3 pm 0.1, independent of annealing. Fits of the stretched-exponential relaxation function G(t) = exp[-(Lambda t)^K] to the data yielded stretching exponentials K < 1 for all samples. Annealed samples exhibited a reduction of the relaxation rate at low temperatures, indicating that annealing shifts fluctuation noise power to higher frequencies. There was no tendency of the inhomogeneous spread in rates to decrease with annealing, which modifies but does not eliminate the glassy spin dynamics reported previously in this compound. The correlation with residual resistivity previously observed for a number of NFL heavy-electron materials is also found in the present work.

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