arXiv subjects

Sven Friedemann

Publications and source records attributed to Sven Friedemann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Field-tuned quasiparticles and electronic structure in heavy-fermion YbNi4P2

We study the Fermi surface topology and quasiparticle properties in the heavy fermion compound YbNi4P2 at high magnetic fields using quantum oscillation measurements. We observe a large decrease of the quasiparticle mass with increasing field and demonstrate good qualitative agreement with the single-ion Kondo model. At the putative Lifshitz transition at 17 T, we observe a sudden change of quantum oscillation frequencies suggesting an abrupt change of the electronic structure and/or quasiparticle characteristics. Our results demonstrate the ability to tune the electronic structure and provide input for theoretical models of YbNi4P2 and correlated electron systems in high magnetic fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Synthesis and stability of high-$T_c$ LaH$_{10\pm\delta}$ films at high pressures

High-pressure hydrides hold the record for the highest superconducting critical temperatures across all classes of superconductors. Currently lanthanum decahydride, LaH$_{10}$, exhibits the highest critical temperature among binaries, with $T_c \approx$ 250 K at pressures between 140-180 GPa. Here, we report the synthesis of LaH$_{10\pm\delta}$ films in two DACs at pressures of 168 GPa and 176 GPa via in situ laser heating of elemental lanthanum films with ammonia borane (NH$_3$BH$_3$) as the hydrogen donor. The high-symmetry fcc lanthanum sublattice (space group $Fm\bar3m$) is resolved using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, with unit cell parameters in excellent agreement with previous studies on bulk samples. We provide confirmation of high-$T_c$ superconductivity in LaH$_{10\pm\delta}$ with highest $T_c$ of 247 K at 176 GPa evidenced in electrical measurements. The characteristic suppression of superconductivity is observed in magnetic fields. Furthermore, combined diffraction and electrical measurements reveal remarkable temporal stability of both the crystal structure and the high-$T_c$ superconductivity over the full measurement period of about 300 days post laser heating. Our work establishes film precursors using physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques as a practical route to hydride formation, opening a pathway toward the controlled synthesis of promising ternary hydrides and the integration of micro-fabricated device geometries in diamond anvil cells.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Magnetically-controlled Vortex Dynamics in a Ferromagnetic Superconductor

Ferromagnetic superconductors are exceptionally rare because the strong ferromagnetic exchange field usually destroys singlet superconductivity. EuFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$, an iron-based superconductor with a maximum critical temperature of 25 K, uniquely exhibits full coexistence with ferromagnetic order below $T_\mathrm{FM}$ $\simeq$ $19$ K. The interplay leads to narrowing of ferromagnetic domains at higher temperatures and spontaneous nucleation of vortices/antivortices at lower temperatures. Here we demonstrate how the underlying magnetic structure controls the superconducting vortex dynamics in applied magnetic fields. Just below $T_\mathrm{FM}$ we observe a pronounced peak in the creep activation energy, and magnetic force microscopy measurements reveal the presence of very closely-spaced ($w\ll λ$) vortex clusters. We attribute these observations to the formation of vortex polarons for which we present a theoretical description. In contrast, we link strong magnetic irreversibility at low temperatures to a critical current governed by giant flux creep over an activation barrier for vortex-antivortex annihilation near domain walls. Our work suggests new routes for the magnetic enhancement of vortex pinning with important applications in high-current conductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Diffusion Driven Transient Hydrogenation in Metal Superhydrides at Extreme Conditions

In recent years, metal hydride research has become one of the driving forces of the high-pressure community, as it is believed to hold the key to superconductivity close to ambient temperature. While numerous novel metal hydride compounds have been reported and extensively investigated for their superconducting properties, little attention has been focused on the atomic and electronic states of hydrogen, the main ingredient in these novel compounds. Here, we present combined $^{1}H$- and $^{139}La$-NMR data on lanthanum superhydrides, $LaH_{x}$, ($x = 10.2 - 11.1$), synthesized after laser heating at pressures above 160 GPa. Strikingly, we found hydrogen to be in a highly diffusive state at room temperature, with diffusion coefficients in the order of $10^{-6}~cm^2s^{-1}$. We found that this diffusive state of hydrogen results in a dynamic de-hydrogenation of the sample over the course of several weeks, approaching a composition similar to its precursor materials. Quantitative measurements demonstrate that the synthesized superhydrides continuously decompose over time. Transport measurements underline this conclusion as superconducting critical temperatures were found to decrease significantly over time as well. This observation sheds new light on formerly unanswered questions on the long-term stability of metal superhydrides.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Absence of Induced Ferromagnetism in Epitaxial Uranium Dioxide Thin Films

Recently, Sharma et al. [Adv. Sci. 9, 2203473 (2022)] claimed that thin films (around 20 nm) of UO2 deposited on perovskite substrates exhibit strongly enhanced paramagnetism (called induced ferromagnetism by the authors). Moments of up to 3 Bohr magneton/U atom were claimed in magnetic fields of 6 T. We have reproduced such films and, after characterisation, have examined them with X-ray circular magnetic dichroism (XMCD) at the uranium M edges, a technique that is element specific. We do not confirm the published results. We find a small increase, as compared to the bulk, in the magnetic susceptibility of UO2 in such films, but the magnetisation versus field curves, measured by XMCD, are linear with field and there is no indication of any ferromagnetism. The absence of any anomaly around 30 K (the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature of bulk UO2) in the XMCD signal suggests the films do not order magnetically.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

High-temperature superconductivity in A15-type La4H23 below 100 GPa

High-temperature superconductivity has been observed in binary hydrides such as LaH10 at pressures above 150 GPa. Hydrogen cage structures have been identified as a common motif beneficial for high critical temperatures Tc. Efforts are now focused on finding hydride high-temperature superconductors at lower pressures. We present evidence for high-temperature superconductivity in binary La4H23 with A15-type structure featuring hydrogen cages at a pressure of P = 95 GPa. We synthesise La4H23 from a lanthanum film capped with a palladium catalyst promoting the dissociation of hydrogen. In resistance measurements, we observe superconductivity with a transition temperature Tc = 90 K. In X-ray diffraction on the same sample, we identify the A15-type cubic body centred structure of the lanthanum sublattice. From comparison with earlier XRD and structure prediction studies, we identify this phase with La4H23. Our study reinforces the concept of hydrogen cages for high-temperature superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Lifshitz transition enabling superconducting dome around the quantum critical point in TiSe$_2$

Superconductivity often emerges as a dome around a quantum critical point (QCP) where long-range order is suppressed to zero temperature. So far, this has been mostly studied in magnetically ordered materials. By contrast, the interplay between charge order and superconductivity at a QCP is not fully understood. Here, we present resistance measurements proving that a dome of superconductivity surrounds the charge-density-wave (CDW) QCP in pristine samples of 1$T$-TiSe$_2$ tuned with hydrostatic pressure. Furthermore, we use quantum oscillation measurements to show that the superconductivity sets in at a Lifshitz transition in the electronic band structure. We use density functional theory to identify the Fermi pockets enabling superconductivity: large electron and hole pockets connected by the CDW wave vector $\vec{Q}$ which emerge upon partial suppression of the zero-pressure CDW gap. Hence, we conclude that superconductivity is of interband type enabled by the presence of hole and electron bands connected by the CDW $\vec{Q}$ vector. Earlier calculations show that interband interactions are repulsive, which suggests that unconventional s$_{\pm}$ superconductivity is realised in TiSe$_2$ - similar to the iron pnictides. These results highlight the importance of Lifshitz transitions in realising unconventional superconductivity and help understand its interaction with CDW order in numerous materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Clean-limit superconductivity in Im-3m H3S synthesized from sulfur and hydrogen donor ammonia borane

We present detailed studies of the superconductivity in high-pressure H3S. X-ray diffraction measurements show that cubic Im-3m H3S was synthesized from elemental sulfur and hydrogen donor ammonia borane (NH3BH3). Our electrical transport measurements confirm superconductivity with a transition temperature Tc = 197 K at 153 GPa. From the analysis of both the normal state resistivity and the slope of the critical field, we conclude that the superconductivity is described by clean-limit behaviour. A significant broadening of the resistive transition in finite magnetic field is found, as expected for superconductors. We identify a linear temperature-over-field scaling of the resistance at the superconducting transition which is not described by existing theories.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Possible signature of broken symmetry state near the quantum critical point in P doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$: A Raman spectroscopy study

We study the iron-pnictide compound BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ for x $\sim$0.23, with a doping concentration near quantum criticality and enhanced nematic fluctuating state in the doping-temperature phase diagram. Transport measurements confirm the presence of a magneto-structural transition at 60K from the tetragonal to the orthorhombic phase, followed by a superconducting transition below 16K. The temperature and polarisation dependent Raman spectra reveal that there is a phonon mode at 211 cm$^{-1}$, followed by two broad modes (BM) between 400 and 700 cm$^{-1}$, having an energy difference of 15 meV, in the temperature range between 300K and 80K. In the non-superconducting state, the phonon mode exhibits expected polarization dependence as well as temperature evolution due to anharmonicity, strong anisotropic and thermally inert behaviour are observed for the BM. Electronic structure calculations for doped and undoped BaFe$_2$As$_2$ show that while Fe $d_{xz}$ and $d_{yz}$ orbitals do not split in the tetragonal phase, the splitting energy is 13.5 meV in the orthorhombic phase of the doped system, which is reasonably close to the experimentally observed value of the energy separation of the BM. We believe that reported BM possibly are the signature of electronic Raman scattering involving the crystal field levels of $d$-orbitals of Fe$^{2+}$ due to local breaking of the C$_4$ symmetry of the parent compound in the doped system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Truncated mass divergence in a Mott metal

Metal-insulator transitions in clean, crystalline solids can be driven by two distinct mechanisms. In a conventional insulator, the charge carrier concentration vanishes, when an energy gap separates filled and unfilled electronic states. In the established picture of a Mott insulator, by contrast, electronic interactions cause coherent charge carriers to slow down and eventually stop in electronic grid-lock without materially affecting the carrier concentration itself. This description has so far escaped experimental verification by quantum oscillation measurements, which directly probe the velocity distribution of the coherent charge carriers. By extending this technique to high pressure we were able to examine the evolution of carrier concentration and velocity in the strongly correlated metallic state of the clean, crystalline material NiS$_2$, while tuning the system towards the Mott insulating phase. Our results confirm that pronounced electronic slowing down indeed governs the approach to the insulating state. However, the critical point itself, at which the carrier velocity would reach zero and the effective carrier mass diverge, is concealed by the insulating sector of the phase diagram. In the resulting, more nuanced view of Mott localisation, the inaccessibility of the low temperature Mott critical point resembles that of the threshold of magnetic order in clean metallic systems, where criticality is almost universally interrupted by first order transitions, tricritical behaviour or novel emergent phases such as unconventional superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Decoupled nematic and magnetic criticality in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$

Electronic nematicity in correlated metals often occurs alongside another instability such as magnetism. As a result, the question remains whether nematicity alone can drive unconventional superconductivity or anomalous (quantum critical) transport in such systems. In FeSe, nematicity emerges in isolation, providing a unique opportunity to address this question. Studies to date, however, have proved inconclusive; while signatures of nematic criticality are observed upon sulfur substitution, they appear to be quenched under the application of pressure due to the emergent magnetism. Here, we study the temperature and pressure dependence of the low-temperature resistivity of FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ crystals at $x$ values just beyond the nematic quantum critical point. Two distinct components to the resistivity are revealed; one whose magnitude falls with increasing pressure and one which grows upon approaching the magnetic state at higher pressures. These findings indicate that nematic and magnetic critical fluctuations in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ are completely decoupled, in marked contrast to other Fe-based superconductors, and that nematic fluctuations alone may be responsible for the transport signatures of quantum criticality found in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ at ambient pressure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Absence of superconducting dome at the charge-density-wave quantum phase transition in 2H-NbSe2

Superconductivity is often found in a dome around quantum critical points, i.e. 2nd-order quantum phase transitions. Here, we show that an enhancement of superconductivity is avoided at the critical pressure of the charge-density-wave (CDW) state in NbSe$_2$. We present comprehensive high-pressure Hall effect and magnetic susceptibility measurements of the CDW and superconducting state in NbSe$_2$. Initially, the 2nd-order CDW transition is suppressed smoothly but it drops to zero abruptly at PCDW = 4.4 GPa thus indicating a change to 1st order whilstthe superconducting transition temperature Tc rises continuously up to PCDW but is constant above. The putative 1st-order nature of the CDW transition is suggested as the cause for the absence of a superconducting dome at PCDW. Indeed, we show that the suppression of the superconducting state at low pressures is due to the loss of density of states inside the CDW phase whilst the initial suppression of the CDW state is accounted for by the stiffening of the underlying bare phonon mode.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Pressure-induced reconstructive phase transition in Cd$_3$As$_2$

Cadmium arsenide Cd$_3$As$_2$ hosts massless Dirac electrons in its ambient-conditions tetragonal phase. We report X-ray diffraction and electrical resistivity measurements of Cd$_3$As$_2$ upon cycling pressure beyond the critical pressure of the tetragonal phase and back to ambient conditions. We find that at room temperature the transition between the low- and high-pressure phases results in large microstrain and reduced crystallite size both on rising and falling pressure. This leads to non-reversible electronic properties including self-doping associated with defects and a reduction of the electron mobility by an order of magnitude due to increased scattering. Our study indicates that the structural transformation is sluggish and shows a sizable hysteresis of over 1~GPa. Therefore, we conclude that the transition is first-order reconstructive, with chemical bonds being broken and rearranged in the high-pressure phase. Using the diffraction measurements we demonstrate that annealing at ~200$^\circ$C greatly improves the crystallinity of the high-pressure phase. We show that its Bragg peaks can be indexed as a primitive orthorhombic lattice with a_HP~8.68 A b_HP~17.15 A and c_HP~18.58 A. The diffraction study indicates that during the structural transformation a new phase with another primitive orthorhombic structure may be also stabilized by deviatoric stress, providing an additional venue for tuning the unconventional electronic states in Cd3As2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2020

Experimental evidence for orthorhombic Fddd crystal structure in elemental yttrium above 100 GPa

We present electrical resistance measurements of elemental yttrium on bulk and film samples, and both exhibit superconductivity at very high pressures. We show that the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature above 100 GPa is in good agreement with the predicted Fddd phase by Chen et al. [Phys. Rev. lett. 109, 157004 (2012)]. This result together with a new Rietveld refinement made on X-ray data at 123 GPa from Samudrala et al. [J. Phys. Condens. Matter 24, 362201 (2012)] offer strong evidence that the atomic structure of yttrium above 100 GPa is orthorhombic Fddd. Furthermore, our process of evaporating yttrium film directly on a diamond anvil is expected to be a valuable asset for future synthesis of new superhydride superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Strong in-plane anisotropy in the electronic structure of fixed-valence $β$-LuAlB$_4$

The origin of intrinsic quantum criticality in the heavy-fermion superconductor $β$-YbAlB$_4$ has been attributed to strong Yb valence fluctuations and its peculiar crystal structure. Here, we assess these contributions individually by studying the isostructural but fixed-valence compound $β$-LuAlB$_4$. Quantum oscillation measurements and DFT calculations reveal a Fermi surface markedly different from that of $β$-YbAlB$_4$, consistent with a `large' Fermi surface there. We also find an unexpected in-plane anisotropy of the electronic structure, in contrast to the isotropic Kondo hybridization in $β$-YbAlB$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Fermi surface reconstruction and electron dynamics at the charge-density-wave transition in TiSe2

The evolution of the charge carrier concentrations and mobilities are examined across the charge-density-wave (CDW) transition in TiSe2. Combined quantum oscillation and magnetotransport measurements show that a small electron pocket dominates the electronic properties at low temperatures whilst an electron and hole pocket contribute at room temperature. At the CDW transition, an abrupt Fermi surface reconstruction and a minimum in the electron and hole mobilities are extracted from two-band and Kohler analysis of magnetotransport measurements. The minimum in the mobilities is associated with the overseen role of scattering from the softening CDW mode. With the carrier concentrations and dynamics dominated by the CDW and the associated bosonic mode, our results highlight TiSe2 as a prototypical system to study the Fermi surface reconstruction at a density-wave transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Excitonic and lattice contributions to the charge density wave in 1T-TiSe$_2$ revealed by a phonon bottleneck

Understanding collective electronic states such as superconductivity and charge density waves is pivotal for fundamental science and applications. The layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TiSe2 hosts a unique charge density wave (CDW) phase transition whose origins are still not fully understood. Here, we present ultrafast time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (TR-ARPES) measurements complemented by time-resolved reflectivity (TRR) which allows us to establish the contribution of excitonic and electron-phonon interactions to the CDW. We monitor the energy shift of the valence band (VB) and coupling to coherent phonons as a function of laser fluence. The VB shift, directly related to the CDW gap closure, exhibits a markedly slower recovery dynamics at fluences above Fth = 60 microJ cm-2. This observation coincides with a shift in the relative weight of coherently coupled phonons to higher frequency modes in time-resolved reflectivity (TRR), suggesting a phonon bottleneck. Using a rate equation model, the emergence of a high-fluence bottleneck is attributed to an abrupt reduction in coupled phonon damping and an increase in exciton dissociation rate linked to the loss of CDW superlattice phonons. Thus, our work establishes the important role of both excitonic and phononic interactions in the CDW phase transition and the advantage of combining complementary femtosecond techniques to understand the complex interactions in quantum materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Quantum Tricritical Points in NbFe$_2$

Quantum critical points (QCPs) emerge when a 2nd order phase transition is suppressed to zero temperature. In metals the quantum fluctuations at such a QCP can give rise to new phases including unconventional superconductivity. Whereas antiferromagnetic QCPs have been studied in considerable detail ferromagnetic (FM) QCPs are much harder to access. In almost all metals FM QCPs are avoided through either a change to 1st order transitions or through an intervening spin-density-wave (SDW) phase. Here, we study the prototype of the second case, NbFe$_2$. We demonstrate that the phase diagram can be modelled using a two-order-parameter theory in which the putative FM QCP is buried within a SDW phase. We establish the presence of quantum tricritical points (QTCPs) at which both the uniform and finite $q$ susceptibility diverge. The universal nature of our model suggests that such QTCPs arise naturally from the interplay between SDW and FM order and exist generally near a buried FM QCP of this type. Our results promote NbFe$_2$ as the first example of a QTCP, which has been proposed as a key concept in a range of narrow-band metals, including the prominent heavy-fermion compound YbRh$_2$Si$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗