arXiv subjects

Ruslan Prozorov

Publications and source records attributed to Ruslan Prozorov.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Dependence of the absolute value of the penetration depth in $\mathrm{\mathbf{{(Ba_{1-x}K_x)Fe_2As_2}}}$ on doping

We report magnetic force microscopy (MFM) measurements on the iron-based superconductor $\mathrm{Ba_{1-x}K_xFe_2As_2}$. By measuring locally the Meissner repulsion with the magnetic MFM tip, we determine the absolute value of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth ($λ_{ab}$) in underdoped, optimally-doped, and overdoped samples. The results suggest an abrupt increase of $λ_{ab}$ as doping is increased from $x_\mathrm{opt}$, which is potentially related to the presence of a quantum critical point. The response of superconducting vortices to magnetic forces exerted by the MFM tip for $x=0.19$ and $0.58$ is compatible with previously observed structural symmetries at those doping levels.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Dynamic Elastoresistivity Evidence for Slow Nematic Fluctuations in BaFe$_2$As$_2$

An instrumentation problem with the signal acquisition at high frequencies was discovered and we no longer believe that the experimental data presented in the manuscript, showing a frequency enhancement of the elastoresistivity, are correct. After correcting the problem, the elastoresistivity data is frequency independent in the range investigated. Therefore, the authors have withdrawn this submission. We would like to thank Alex Hristov, Johanna Palmstrom, Josh Straquadine and Ian Fisher (Stanford) for the kind discussions and assistance we received which helped us identify these problems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Beyond Triplet: Unconventional Superconductivity in a Spin-3/2 Topological Semimetal

In all known fermionic superfluids, Cooper pairs are composed of spin-1/2 quasi-particles that pair to form either spin-singlet or spin-triplet bound states. The "spin" of a Bloch electron, however, is fixed by the symmetries of the crystal and the atomic orbitals from which it is derived, and in some cases can behave as if it were a spin-3/2 particle. The superconducting state of such a system allows pairing beyond spin-triplet, with higher spin quasi-particles combining to form quintet or septet pairs. Here, we report evidence of unconventional superconductivity emerging from a spin-3/2 quasiparticle electronic structure in the half-Heusler semimetal YPtBi, a low-carrier density noncentrosymmetric cubic material with a high symmetry that preserves the $p$-like $j=3/2$ manifold in the Bi-based $Γ_8$ band in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. With a striking linear temperature dependence of the London penetration depth, the existence of line nodes in the superconducting order parameter $Δ$ is directly explained by a mixed-parity Cooper pairing model with high total angular momentum, consistent with a high-spin fermionic superfluid state. We propose a $\mathbf{k\cdot p}$ model of the $j=3/2$ fermions to explain how a dominant $J$=3 septet pairing state is the simplest solution that naturally produces nodes in the mixed even-odd parity gap. Together with the underlying topologically non-trivial band structure, the unconventional pairing in this system represents a truly novel form of superfluidity that has strong potential for leading the development of a new generation of topological superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Dome of magnetic order inside the nematic phase of sulfur-substituted FeSe under pressure

The pressure dependence of the structural, magnetic and superconducting transitions and of the superconducting upper critical field were studied in sulfur-substituted Fe(Se$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$). Resistance measurements were performed on single crystals with three substitution levels ($x$=0.043, 0.096, 0.12) under hydrostatic pressures up to 1.8 GPa and in magnetic fields up to 9 T, and compared to data on pure FeSe. Our results illustrate the effects of chemical and physical pressure on Fe(Se$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$). On increasing sulfur content, magnetic order in the low-pressure range is strongly suppressed to a small dome-like region in the phase diagrams. However, $T_s$ is much less suppressed by sulfur substitution and $T_c$ of Fe(Se$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$) exhibits similar non-monotonic pressure dependence with a local maximum and a local minimum present in the low pressure range for all $x$. The local maximum in $T_c$ coincides with the emergence of the magnetic order above $T_c$. At this pressure the slope of the upper critical field decreases abruptly. The minimum of $T_c$ correlates with a broad maximum of the upper critical field slope normalized by $T_c$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Anisotropic type-I superconductivity and anomalous superfluid density in OsB 2

We present a microscopic study of superconductivity in OsB2 , and discuss the origin and characteristic length scales of the superconducting state. From first-principles we show that OsB2 is characterized by three different Fermi sheets, and we prove that this fermiology complies with recent quantum-oscillation experiments. Using the found microscopic properties, and experimental data from the literature, we employ Ginzburg-Landau relations to reveal that OsB2 is a distinctly type-I superconductor with very low Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa - a rare property among compound materials. We show that the found coherence length and penetration depth corroborate the measured thermodynamic critical field. Moreover, our calculation of the superconducting gap structure using anisotropic Eliashberg theory and ab initio calculated electron-phonon interaction as input reveals a single but anisotropic gap. The calculated gap spectrum is shown to give an excellent account for the unconventional behavior of the superfluid density of OsB2 measured in experiments as a function of temperature. This reveals that gap anisotropy can explain such behavior, observed in several compounds, which was previously attributed solely to a two-gap nature of superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Structural and magnetic phase transitions in Ca$_{0.73}$La$_{0.27}$FeAs$_2$ with electron overdoped FeAs layers

We report a study of the Ca$_{0.73}$La$_{0.27}$FeAs$_2$ single crystals. We unravel a monoclinic to triclinic phase transition at 58 K, and a paramagnetic to stripe antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase transition at 54 K, below which spins order 45$^\circ$ away from the stripe direction. Furthermore, we demonstrate this material is substantially structurally untwinned at ambient pressure with the formation of spin rotation walls (S-walls). Finally, in addition to the central-hole and corner-electron Fermi pockets usually appearing in Fe pnictide superconductors, angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements resolve a Fermiology where an extra electron pocket of mainly As chain character exists at the Brillouin zone edge.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Non-monotonic pressure evolution of the upper critical field in superconducting FeSe

The pressure dependence of the upper critical field, $H_\textrm{c2,c}$, of single crystalline FeSe was studied using measurements of the inter-plane resistivity, $ρ_{\textrm{c}}$ in magnetic fields parallel to tetragonal $c$-axis. $H_\textrm{c2,c}(T)$ curves obtained under hydrostatic pressures up to $1.56$ GPa, the range over which the superconducting transition temperature, $T_\textrm{c}$, of FeSe exhibits a non-monotonic dependence with local maximum at $p_1\approx$ 0.8 GPa and local minimum at $p_2\approx$ 1.2 GPa. The slope of the upper critical field at $T_\textrm{c}$, $\left(\textrm{d}H_\text{c2,c}/\textrm{d}T\right)_{T_\textrm{c}}$, also exhibits a non-monotonic pressure dependence with distinct changes at $p_1$ and $p_2$. For $p p_2$ the slope is in good quantitative agreement with a single band, orbital Helfand-Werthamer theory with Fermi velocities determined from Shubnikov-de Haas measurements. This finding indicates that Fermi surface changes are responsible for the local minimum of $T_\textrm{c}(p)$ at $p_2\approx$ 1.2 GPa.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Single Vortex Pinning and Penetration Depth in Superconducting NdFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$

We use a magnetic force microscope (MFM) to investigate single vortex pinning and penetration depth in NdFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$, one of the highest-$T_c$ iron-based superconductors. In fields up to 20 Gauss, we observe a disordered vortex arrangement, implying that the pinning forces are stronger than the vortex-vortex interactions. We measure the typical force to depin a single vortex, $F_{\mathrm{depin}} \simeq 4.5$ pN, corresponding to a critical current up to $J_c \simeq 7 \times 10^5$ A/cm$^2$. Furthermore, our MFM measurements allow the first local and absolute determination of the superconducting in-plane penetration depth in NdFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$, $λ_{ab}=320 \pm 60$ nm, which is larger than previous bulk measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Upper critical field of KFe2As2 under pressure: A test for the change in the superconducting gap structure

We report measurements of electrical resistivity under pressure to 5.8 GPa, magnetization to 6.7 GPa,and ac susceptibility to 7.1 GPa in KFe2As2. The previously reported change of slope in the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature Tc(p) at a pressure p0=1.8 GPa is confirmed, and Tc(p) is found to be nearly constant above p0 up to 7.1 GPa. The T-p phase diagram is very sensitive to the pressure conditions as a consequence of the anisotropic uniaxial pressure dependence of Tc. Across p0, a change in the behavior of the upper critical field is revealed through a scaling analysis of the slope of Hc2 with the effective mass as determined from the A coefficient of the T2 term of the temperature-dependent resistivity. We show that this scaling provides a quantitative test for the changes of the superconducting gap structure and suggests the development of a kz modulation of the superconducting gap above p0 as a most likely explanation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Physical properties of CeGe2-x (x = 0.24) single crystals

We present data on the anisotropic magnetic properties, heat capacity and transport properties of CeGe2-x (x = 0.24) single crystals. The electronic coefficient of the heat capacity, gamma ~ 110 mJ/mol K^2, is enhanced; three magnetic transitions, with critical temperatures of ~ 7 K, ~ 5 K, and ~ 4 K are observed in thermodynamic and transport measurements. The ground state has a small ferromagnetic component along the c - axis. Small applied field, below 10 kOe, is enough to bring the material to an apparent saturated paramagnetic state (with no further metamagnetic transitions up to 55 kOe) with a reduced, below 1 mu_B, saturated moment.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Equilibrium intermediate-state patterns in a type-I superconducting slab in an arbitrarily oriented applied magnetic field

The equilibrium topology of superconducting and normal domains in flat type-I superconductors is investigated. Important improvements with respect to previous work are: (1) the energy of the external magnetic field, as deformed by the presence of superconducting domains, is calculated in the same way for three different topologies, and (2) calculations are made for arbitrary orientation of the applied field. A phase diagram is presented for the minimum-energy topology as a function of applied field magnitude and angle. For small (large) applied fields normal (superconducting) tubes are found, while for intermediate fields parallel domains have a lower energy. The range of field magnitudes for which the superconducting-tubes structure is favored shrinks when the field is more in-plane oriented.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Anisotropy of strong pinning in multi-band superconductors

The field-angular dependence and anisotropy of the critical current density in iron-based superconductors is evaluated using a phenomenological approach featuring distinct anisotropy factors for the penetration depth and the coherence length. Both the weak collective pinning limit, and the strong pinning limit relevant for iron-based superconductors at low magnetic fields are considered. It is found that in the more anisotropic materials, such as SmFeAsO and NdFeAsO, the field-angular dependence is completely dominated by the coherence-length (upper-critical field) anisotropy, thereby explaining recent results on the critical current in these materials. In less anisotropic superconductors, strong pinning can lead to an apparent inversion of the anisotropy. Finally, it is shown that, under all circumstances, the ratio of c-axis and ab-plane critical current densities for magnetic field along the ab-plane directly yields the coherence length anisotropy factor εξ.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Vortex creep and critical current densities in superconducting (Ba,K)Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ single crystals

The surprisingly rapid relaxation of the sustainable current density in the critical state of single crystalline Ba$_{1-x}$K$_{x}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is investigated for magnetic fields oriented parallel to the c-axis and to the $ab$--plane respectively. Due to the inadequacy of standard analysis procedures developed for flux creep in the high temperature superconducting cuprates, we develop a simple, straightforward data treatment technique that reveals the creep mechanism and the creep exponent $μ$. At low magnetic fields, below the second magnetization peak, $μ$ varies only slightly as function of temperature and magnetic flux density $B$. From the data, we determine the temperature- and field dependence of the effective activation barrier for creep. At low temperatures, the measured current density approaches the zero--temperature critical current density (in the absence of creep) to within a factor 2, thus lending credence to earlier conclusions drawn with respect to the pinning mechanism. The comparable values of the experimental screening current density and the zero-temperature critical current density reveals the limited usefulness of the widely used "interpolation formula".

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Agreement between local and global measurements of the London penetration depth

Recent measurements of the superconducting penetration depth in Ba(Fe_1-x Co_x)2As2 appeared to disagree on the magnitude and curvature of Δλ_{ab}(T), even near optimal doping. These measurements were carried out on different samples grown by different groups. To understand the discrepancy, we use scanning SQUID susceptometry and a tunnel diode resonator to measure the penetration depth in a single sample. The penetration depth observed by the two techniques is identical with no adjustments. We conclude that any discrepancies arise from differences between samples, either in growth or crystal preparation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

London Penetration Depth in Iron - based Superconductors

Measurements of London penetration depth are a sensitive tool to study multi-band superconductivity and it has provided several important insights to the behavior of Fe-based superconductors. We first briefly review the "experimentalist - friendly" self-consistent Eilenberger model that relates the measurable superfluid density and structure of superconducting gaps. Then we focus on the \BaFe -derived materials, for which the results are consistent with 1) two distinct superconducting gaps; 2) development of strong in-plane gap anisotropy with the departure from the optimal doping; 3) appearance of gap nodes along the $c-$direction in a highly overdoped regime; 4) significant pair-breaking, presumably due to charge doping; 5) fully gapped (exponential) intrinsic behavior at the optimal doping if scattering is removed (probed in the "self-doped" stoichiometric LiFeAs); 6) competition between magnetically ordered state and superconductivity, which do coexist in the underdoped compounds. Overall, it appears that while there are common trends in the behavior of Fe-based superconductors, the gap structure is non-universal and is sensitive to the doping level. It is plausible that the rich variety of possible gap structures within the general $s_{\pm}$ framework is responsible for the observed behavior.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Magnetic field - dependent Labusch parameter in LiFeAs superconductor from Campbell penetration depth

A true critical current density, $j_{c}$, as opposite to commonly measured relaxed persistent (Bean) current, $j_{B}$, was extracted from the Campbell penetration depth, $λ_{C}(T,H)$ measured in single crystals of LiFeAs. The effective pinning potential is non-parabolic, which follows from the magnetic field - dependent Labusch parameter $α$. At the equilibrium (upon field - cooling), $α(H)$ is non-monotonic, but it is monotonic at a finite gradient of the vortex density. This behavior leads to a faster magnetic relaxation at the lower fields and provides a natural \emph{dynamic} explanation for the fishtail (second peak) effect. We also find the evidence for strong pinning at the lower fields. The inferred field dependence of the pinning potential is consistent with the evolution from strong pinning, through collective pinning and, eventually, to a disordered vortex lattice. The values of $j_{c}(2\text{K}) \simeq 2\times10^{6}$ A/cm$^{2}$ provide an upper estimate of the current carrying capability of LiFeAs. Overall, vortex behavior of almost isotropic, fully-gapped LiFeAs is very similar to highly anisotropic d-wave cuprate superconductors, the similarity that requires further studies in order to understand unconventional superconductivity in cuprates and pnictides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Quasiparticle Heat Transport in Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$: Evidence for a k-dependent Superconducting Gap without Nodes

The thermal conductivity $κ$ of the iron-arsenide superconductor Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ ($T_c \simeq$ 30 K) was measured in single crystals at temperatures down to $T \simeq 50$ mK ($\simeq T_c$/600) and in magnetic fields up to $H = 15$ T ($\simeq H_{c2}$/4). A negligible residual linear term in $κ/T$ as $T \to 0$ shows that there are no zero-energy quasiparticles in the superconducting state. This rules out the existence of line and in-plane point nodes in the superconducting gap, imposing strong constraints on the symmetry of the order parameter. It excludes d-wave symmetry, drawing a clear distinction between these superconductors and the high-$T_c$ cuprates. However, the fact that a magnetic field much smaller than $H_{c2}$ can induce a residual linear term indicates that the gap must be very small on part of the Fermi surface, whether from strong anisotropy or band dependence, or both.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Static and Dynamic irreversible magnetic properties of high temperature superconductors

This thesis describes experimental and theoretical study of static and dynamic aspects of the irreversible magnetic behavior of high-Tc superconductors. Experimentally, conventional magnetometry and novel Hall-probe array techniques are employed. Using both techniques extends significantly the experimental possibilities and yields a wealth of new experimental results.

cond-mat.supr-con↗