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Sushma Lakshmi Ravi Sankar

Publications and source records attributed to Sushma Lakshmi Ravi Sankar.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Unconventional superconductivity in locally non-centrosymmetric CeNi$_2$As$_2$

Recent years have seen intense research on heavy fermion superconductivity, inspired by the discovery of multiple superconducting phases in UTe$_\text{2}$ and CeRh$_\text{2}$As$_\text{2}$. In the latter material, two superconducting phases observed under applied magnetic field oriented along the crystallographic $\textit{c}$ direction are associated with local inversion symmetry breaking. To advance understanding of these phenomena, it is highly desirable to find further examples of heavy fermion superconductivity in materials with locally non-centrosymmetric structure. We have succeeded in this quest, by growing single crystals of the CaBe$_\text{2}$Ge$_\text{2}$ isomorph of CeNi$_\text{2}$As$_\text{2}$. The resulting superconductivity brings more than we had foreseen. In addition to providing the opportunity to compare and contrast with that of CeRh$_\text{2}$As$_\text{2}$, the condensation occurs from an incoherent normal state quantitatively similar to that of UBe$_\text{13}$. Our findings therefore raise profound questions not just about superconductivity in the locally non-centrosymmetric structures, but about unconventional superconductivity itself.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

La substitution studies on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeRh$_2$As$_2$

CeRh$_2$As$_2$ has been receiving considerable attention due to its unusual two-phase superconductivity. The superconducting (SC) phase appears at $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ = 0.35 K in an ordered state (phase I) of the Ce-4$f$ moments, which develops below $T_{\mathrm{0}}$ = 0.55 K. The microscopic nature of phase I has not been fully established yet. We report a single-crystal study of the effect of La substitution on these low-temperature phases in Ce$_{1-\textit{x}}$La$_\textit{x}$Rh$_2$As$_2$ up to $x$ = 0.1. The lattice parameters increase monotonically with $x$, corresponding to an effective negative pressure of approximately -0.3 GPa for $x$ = 0.1. While the Ce$^{3+}$ local valence state and the non-Fermi-liquid behavior are preserved, the resistivity coherence maximum $T^{*}_{\mathrm{max}}$ $\approx$ 45 K in the pristine sample shifts to lower temperatures with increasing $x$, indicating a suppression of the Kondo energy scale upon lattice expansion. On the other hand, both $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ and $T_{\mathrm{0}}$ are rapidly suppressed to below 0.1 K for $x$ $>$ 0.05. Notably, such a rapid decrease of $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ under moderate negative pressure is unexpected, but is rather consistent with substitution-induced disorder effect which leads to strong pair breaking in unconventional superconductors. The observed fragility of phase I under both pressure and disorder may imply its itinerant origin.

cond-mat.str-el↗