arXiv subjects

R. Lortz

Publications and source records attributed to R. Lortz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Signatures of a high-temperature collective electronic phase with superconductivity-like characteristics and a giant pressure effect in networks of boron-doped ultrathin carbon nanotubes

We present data consistent with a high-temperature collective electronic phase with superconductivity-like characteristics in three dimensional networks of boron doped, ultrathin carbon nanotubes (CNTs) grown inside the 5 Angstrom channels of ZSM-5 zeolite. Confinement stabilizes (2,1) CNTs that are otherwise dynamically unstable, while boron doping shifts the Fermi level towards a van Hove singularity, as supported by ab-initio calculations. The resulting CNT network exhibits multiple, mutually consistent signatures of an electronic condensate with the typical characteristics of a high temperature superconductor at ambient pressure. DC magnetization and AC susceptibility measurements reveal the onset of a Meissner response between 220 and 250K, with compacted samples achieving up to 93 percent of full diamagnetic screening. Electrical transport shows a sharp resistive transition with extrapolated Tc = 239K and vanishing resistance in optimized samples. Specific heat measurements display a reproducible anomaly at 233 to 236 K that broadens under magnetic field, consistent with strong fluctuations. Point contact spectroscopy identifies three energy gaps, including a leading gap of 30 meV whose temperature dependence follows BCS expectations for Tc = 224K, and exhibits particle-hole symmetry and Andreev reflection. Remarkably, applying pressures below 0.1 kbar enhances Tc by nearly 100K and modulates the room temperature resistance by more than three orders of magnitude, suggesting a pressure driven 1D to 3D crossover in the CNT network. These results identify boron doped ultrathin CNT networks as a promising carbon-based platform for near ambient temperature superconductivity and reveal an unusually large pressure sensitivity with potential technological relevance.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

A quantum magnetic analogue to the critical point of water

At the familiar liquid-gas phase transition in water, the density jumps discontinuously at atmospheric pressure, but the line of these first-order transitions defined by increasing pressures terminates at the critical point, a concept ubiquitous in statistical thermodynamics. In correlated quantum materials, a critical point was predicted and measured terminating the line of Mott metal-insulator transitions, which are also first-order with a discontinuous charge density. In quantum spin systems, continuous quantum phase transitions (QPTs) have been investigated extensively, but discontinuous QPTs have received less attention. The frustrated quantum antiferromagnet SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$ constitutes a near-exact realization of the paradigmatic Shastry-Sutherland model and displays exotic phenomena including magnetization plateaux, anomalous thermodynamics and discontinuous QPTs. We demonstrate by high-precision specific-heat measurements under pressure and applied magnetic field that, like water, the pressure-temperature phase diagram of SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$ has an Ising critical point terminating a first-order transition line, which separates phases with different densities of magnetic particles (triplets). We achieve a quantitative explanation of our data by detailed numerical calculations using newly-developed finite-temperature tensor-network methods. These results open a new dimension in understanding the thermodynamics of quantum magnetic materials, where the anisotropic spin interactions producing topological properties for spintronic applications drive an increasing focus on first-order QPTs.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Spectroscopic Fingerprint of Chiral Majorana Modes at the Edge of a Quantum Anomalous Hall Insulator / Superconductor Heterostructure

With the recent discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI), which exhibits the conductive quantum Hall edge states without external magnetic field, it becomes possible to create a novel topological superconductor (SC) by introducing superconductivity into these edge states. In this case, two distinct topological superconducting phases with one or two chiral Majorana edge modes were theoretically predicted, characterized by Chern numbers (N ) of 1 and 2, respectively. We present spectroscopic evidence from Andreev reflection experiments for the presence of chiral Majorana modes in a Nb / (Cr0.12Bi0.26Sb0.62)2Te3 heterostructure with distinct signatures attributed to two different topological superconducting phases. The results are in qualitatively good agreement with the theoretical predictions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Enormous enhancement of p-orbital magnetism and band gap in the lightly doped carbyne

This paper presents a path to tailor adapted magnetic and optical properties in carbyne. Although p-orbital magnetism is generally much weaker than d-orbital magnetism, we demonstrate that the charge fluctuation of the free radical electrons triggered by a time-varying electric dipole moment leads to enormous p-orbital magnetism. By introducing 25% arsenic and 12.5% fluorine into the monoatomic carbon chain, the magnetic moment of the arsenic atom reaches 2.9 Bohr Magneton, which is ~1.3 times stronger than magnetic moment of bulk Fe. This magnetically optimized carbyne composite carries an exchange-correlation energy of 22meV (~270K). On the other hand, we convert the carbyne (in beta-form) from metallic to a semiconducting state by using anionic dopants. After doping 12.5% nitrogen and 12.5% oxygen into the beta-carbyne, the semiconducting gap of this composite is optimized at 1.6eV, which is 1.4 times larger than the band gap of bulk silicon.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

The interactions between antiferromagnetism, tetrahedral sites and electron-phonon coupling in FeSe1-xTex and FeSe/SrTiO3

We show that the superconducting transition temperature Tc of FeSe1-xTex can be computed to reasonable values in a modified McMillan approach in which the electron-phonon coupling is amplified by the antiferromagnetism and the out-of-plane phonons triggered by the tetrahedral lattice sites. This interplay is not only effective at ambient pressure, but also under hydrostatic compression. According to our model, the theoretical Tc of the compressed FeSe0.5Te0.5 agrees with experiment results. More importantly, by taking into account the interfacial effect between an FeSe monolayer and its SrTiO3 substrate as an additional gain factor, our calculated Tc value is up to 91 K high, and provides evidence that the strong Tc enhancement recently observed in such monolayers with Tc reaching 100 K may be due to an enhanced-electron phonon coupling.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Electron-electron interactions of the multi-Cooper-pairs in the 1D limit and their role in the formation of global phase coherence in quasi-one-dimensional superconducting nanowire arrays

Nanostructuring of superconducting materials to form dense arrays of thin parallel nanowires with significantly large transverse Josephson coupling has proven to be an effective way to increase the upper critical field of superconducting elements by as much as two orders of magnitude as compared to the corresponding bulk materials and, in addition, may cause considerable enhancements in their critical temperatures. Such materials have been realized in the linear pores of mesoporous substrates or exist intrinsically in the form of various quasi-1D crystalline materials. The transverse coupling between the superconducting nanowires is determined by the size-dependent coherence length E0. In order to obtain E0 over the Langer-Ambegaokar- McCumber-Halperin (LAMH) theory, extensive experimental fitting parameters have been required over the last 40 years. We propose a novel Monte Carlo algorithm for determining E0 of the multi-Cooper pair system in the 1D limit. The concepts of uncertainty principle, Pauli-limit, spin flip mechanism, electrostatic interaction, thermal perturbation and co-rotating of electrons are considered in the model. We use Pb nanowires as an example to monitor the size effect of E0 as a result of the modified electron-electron interaction without the need for experimental fitting parameters. We investigate how the coherence length determines the transverse coupling of nanowires in dense arrays. This determines whether or not a global phase-coherent state with zero resistance can be formed in such arrays. Our Monte Carlo results are in very good agreement with experimental data from various types of superconducting nanowire arrays

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

High-pressure effects on isotropic superconductivity in the iron-free layered pnictide superconductor BaPd2As2

While the layered 122 iron arsenide superconductors are highly anisotropic, unconventional, and exhibit several forms of electronic orders that coexist or compete with superconductivity in different regions of their phase diagrams, we find in the absence of iron in the structure that the superconducting characteristics of the end member BaPd2As2 are surprisingly conventional. Here we report on complementary measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity measurements, Andreev spectroscopy, and synchrotron high pressure x-ray diffraction measurements supplemented with theoretical calculations for BaPd2As2. Its superconducting properties are completely isotropic as demonstrated by the critical fields, which do not depend on the direction of the applied field. Under the application of high pressure, Tc is linearly suppressed, which is the typical behavior of classical phonon-mediated superconductors with some additional effect of a pressure-induced decrease in the electronic density of states and the electron-phonon coupling parameters. Structural changes in the layered BaPd2As2 have been studied by means of angle-dispersive diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. At 12 GPa and 24.2 GPa we observed pressure induced lattice distortions manifesting as the discontinuity and, hence discontinuity in the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state. The bulk modulus is B0=40(6) GPa below 12 GPa and B0=142(3) GPa below 27.2 GPa.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic field induced enlargement of the regime of critical fluctuations in the classical superconductor V3Si from high-resolution specific heat experiments

We report high-resolution specific heat data on a high-quality single crystal of the classical superconductor V3Si, which reveal tiny lambda-shape anomalies appearing superimposed onto the BCS specific heat jump at the superconducting transition in magnetic fields of 2 T and higher. The appearance of these anomalies is accompanied by a magnetic-field-induced broadening of the superconducting transition. We demonstrate, using scaling relations predicted by the fluctuation models of the 3d-XY and the 3d-Lowest-Landau-Level (3d-LLL) universality class, that the effect of critical fluctuations becomes experimentally observable due to of a magnetic field-induced enlargement of the regime of critical fluctuations. The scaling indicates that a reduction of the effective dimensionality due to the confinement of quasiparticles into low Landau levels is responsible for this effect.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Large gap, a pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show a very large superconducting twin-gap structure with an energy scale exceeding that of bulk FeSe or FeSe1-xTex by a factor of 4. While the larger gap is isotropic and attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity of the interface, the smaller gap has a pronounced anisotropy and is associated with proximity-induced superconductivity in the topological insulator Bi2Te3. Zero resistance is lost above 8 K, but superconducting fluctuations are visible up to at least 12 K and the large gap is replaced by a pseudogap that persists up to 40 K. The spectra show a pronounced zero-bias conductance peak in the superconducting state, which may be a signature of an unconventional pairing mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Thermodynamic Observation of a Vortex Melting Transition in the Fe-based Superconductor Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2

In cuprate high-temperature superconductors the small coherence lengths and high transition termperatures result in strong thermal fluctuations, which render the superconducting transition in applied magnetic fields into a wide continuous crossover. A state with zero resistance is found only below the vortex melting transition, which occurs well below the onset of superconducting correlations. Here we investigate the vortex phase diagram of the novel Fe-based superconductor in form of a high-quality single crystal of Ba0.5K0.5Fe2As2, using three different experimental probes (specific heat, thermal expansion and magnetization). We find clear thermodynamic signatures of a vortex melting transition, which shows that the thermal fluctuations in applied magnetic fields also have a considerable impact on the superconducting properties of iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Thermodynamic investigations in the precursor region of FeGe

High-resolution DC magnetization and AC-specific heat data of the cubic helimagnet FeGe have been measured as function of temperature and magnetic field. The magnetization data as well as the isothermal susceptibility data confirm the complexity of the magnetic phase diagram in the vicinity of the onset of long-rang magnetic order (Tc = 278.5 K) and the existence of a segmented A-phase region. Moreover, these data revealed independent and clear indications of phase boundaries and crossovers within the A-phase region. Together with the anomalies in the specific-heat data around Tc and at small magnetic fields (H < 600 Oe) a complex magnetic phase diagram of FeGe is obtained.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Thermodynamic evidence for pressure-induced bulk superconductivity in the Fe-As pnictide superconductor CaFe2As2

We report specific-heat and resistivity experiments performed in parallel in a Bridgman-type of pressure cell in order to investigate the nature of pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron pnictide compound CaFe2As2. The presence of a pronounced specific-heat anomaly at Tc reveals a bulk nature of the superconducting state. The thermodynamic transition temperature differs dramatically from the onset of the resistive transition. Our data indicates that superconductivity occurs in the vicinity of a crystallographic phase transition. We discuss the discrepancy between the two methods as caused by strain-induced superconducting precursors formed above the bulk thermodynamic transition due to the vicinity of the structural instability.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Confinement of Chiral Magnetic Modulations in the Precursor Region of FeGe

We report on magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements of the cubic helimagnet FeGe in external magnetic fields and temperatures near the onset of long-range magnetic order at T_C=278.2(3)K. Pronounced anomalies in the field-dependent chi_ac(H) data as well as in the corresponding imaginary part chi"_ac(H) reveal a precursor region around T_C in the magnetic phase diagram. The occurrence of a maximum at T_0=279.6K in the zero-field specific heat data indicates a second order transition into a magnetically ordered state. A shoulder evolves above this maximum as a magnetic field is applied. The field dependence of both features coincides with crossover lines from the field-polarized to the paramagnetic state deduced from chi_ac(T) at constant magnetic fields. The experimental findings are analyzed within the standard Dzyaloshinskii theory for cubic helimagnets. The remarkable multiplicity of modulated precursor states and the complexity of the magnetic phase diagram near the magnetic ordering are explained by the change of the character of solitonic inter-core interactions and the onset of specific confined chiral modulations in this area.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Thermodynamic phase diagram and phase competition in BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 studied by thermal expansion

High-resolution thermal-expansion and specific-heat measurements were performed on single crystalline BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 (0 < x < 0.33, x = 1). The observation of clear anomalies allows to establish the thermodynamic phase diagram which features a small coexistence region of SDW and superconductivity with a steep rise of Tc on the underdoped side. Samples that undergo the tetragonal-orthorhombic structural transition are detwinned in situ, and the response of the sample length to the magneto-structural and superconducting transitions is studied for all three crystallographic directions. It is shown that a reduction of the magnetic order by superconductivity is reflected in all lattice parameters. On the overdoped side, superconductivity affects the lattice parameters in much the same way as the SDW on the underdoped side, suggesting an intimate relation between the two types of order. Moreover, the uniaxial pressure derivatives of Tc are calculated using the Ehrenfest relation and are found to be large and anisotropic. A correspondence between substitution and uniaxial pressure is established, i.e., uniaxial pressure along the b-axis (c-axis) corresponds to a decrease (increase) of the P content. By studying the electronic contribution to the thermal expansion we find evidence for a maximum of the electronic density of states at optimal doping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Magnetization and specific heat of the dimer system CuTe2O5

We report on magnetization and specific heat measurements on single-crystalline CuTe2O5. The experimental data are directly compared to theoretical results for two different spin structures, namely an alternating spin-chain and a two-dimensional (2D) coupled dimer model, obtained by Das et al. [Phys. Rev. B 77, 224437 (2008)]. While the analysis of the specific heat does not allow to distinguish between the two models, the magnetization data is in good agreement with the 2D coupled dimer model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Superconducting transitions of intrinsic arrays of weakly coupled 1D superconducting chains: The case of the extreme quasi-1D superconductor Tl2Mo6Se6

Tl2Mo6Se6 represents a model system for quasi-one-dimensional superconductors. We investigate its superconducting transition in detail by means of electrical transport experiments on high-quality single crystalline samples with onset Tc = 6.8 K. Our measurements indicate a highly complex superconducting transition which occurs in different stages, with a characteristic bump in the resistivity and distinct plateau structures in the supercurrent gap imaged by V-I curves. We interpret these features as fingerprints of the gradual establishment of global phase coherence in an array of weakly coupled parallel one-dimensional (1D) superconducting bundles. In this way, we demonstrate that superconducting Tl2Mo6Se6 behaves like an intrinsic array of Proximity or Josephson junctions, undergoing a complex superconducting phase-ordering transition at 4.5 K which shows many similarities to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Magnetic-Torque Evidence for the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov State for In-Plane Magnetic Fields in the Organic Superconductor k-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2

We present magnetic-torque measurements of the organic superconductor k-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 for in-plane magnetic fields up to 32 T. In this layered two-dimensional compound the superconductivity can persist even in fields above the Pauli limit of about 21 T. There, a pronounced upturn of the upper-critical-field line occurs and the superconducting phase-transition line splits and forms an additional high magnetic field phase. k-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 is a spin-singlet superconductor, therefore, such a superconducting high-field phase beyond the Pauli limit can originate only from Cooper pairing with finite center-of-mass momentum. The measurements are discussed in connection with a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state, in accordance with earlier specific-heat observations. The torque experiments allow us to investigate the high magnetic-field phase diagram and the FFLO state of k-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 in great detail.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Phonon Mode Spectroscopy, Electron-Phonon Coupling and the Metal-Insulator Transition in Quasi-One-Dimensional M2Mo6Se6

We present electronic structure calculations, electrical resistivity data and the first specific heat measurements in the normal and superconducting states of quasi-one-dimensional M2Mo6Se6 (M = Tl, In, Rb). Rb2Mo6Se6 undergoes a metal-insulator transition at ~170K: electronic structure calculations indicate that this is likely to be driven by the formation of a dynamical charge density wave. However, Tl2Mo6Se6 and In2Mo6Se6 remain metallic down to low temperature, with superconducting transitions at Tc = 4.2K and 2.85K respectively. The absence of any metal-insulator transition in these materials is due to a larger in-plane bandwidth, leading to increased inter-chain hopping which suppresses the density wave instability. Electronic heat capacity data for the superconducting compounds reveal an exceptionally low density of states DEF = 0.055 states eV^-1 atom^-1, with BCS fits showing 2Delta/kBTc >= 5 for Tl2Mo6Se6 and 3.5 for In2Mo6Se6. Modelling the lattice specific heat with a set of Einstein modes, we obtain the approximate phonon density of states F(w). Deconvolving the resistivity for the two superconductors then yields their electron-phonon transport coupling function a^2F(w). In Tl2Mo6Se6 and In2Mo6Se6, F(w) is dominated by an optical "guest ion" mode at ~5meV and a set of acoustic modes from ~10-30meV. Rb2Mo6Se6 exhibits a similar spectrum; however, the optical phonon has a lower intensity and is shifted to ~8meV. Electrons in Tl2Mo6Se6 couple strongly to both sets of modes, whereas In2Mo6Se6 only displays significant coupling in the 10-18meV range. Although pairing is clearly not mediated by the guest ion phonon, we believe it has a beneficial effect on superconductivity in Tl2Mo6Se6, given its extraordinarily large coupling strength and higher Tc compared to In2Mo6Se6.

cond-mat.str-el↗