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arXiv2013

Nanoscale multifunctional sensor formed by a Ni nanotube and a scanning Nb nanoSQUID

Nanoscale magnets might form the building blocks of next generation memories. To explore their functionality, magnetic sensing at the nanoscale is key. We present a multifunctional combination of a scanning nanometer-sized superconducting quantum interference device (nanoSQUID) and a Ni nanotube attached to an ultrasoft cantilever as a magnetic tip. We map out and analyze the magnetic coupling between the Ni tube and the Nb nanoSQUID, demonstrate imaging of an Abrikosov vortex trapped in the SQUID structure - which is important in ruling out spurious magnetic signals - and reveal the high potential of the nanoSQUID as an ultrasensitive displacement detector. Our results open a new avenue for fundamental studies of nanoscale magnetism and superconductivity.

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arXiv2013

The influence of spin fluctuations on the thermal conductivity in superconducting Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_x)_2As_2

The thermal conductivity of electron-doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals is investigated below 200K, with an emphasis on the behavior near the magnetic and superconducting (T_c) transition temperatures. An enhancement of the in-plane thermal conductivity $κ_{ab}$ is observed below T_c for all samples, with the greatest enhancement observed near optimal doping. The observed trends are consistent with the scattering of heat carriers by low-energy magnetic excitations. Upon entering the superconducting state, the formation of a spin-gap leads to reduced scattering and an enhancement in $κ(T)$. Similarly, an enhancement of $κ$ is observed for polycrystalline BaFe2As2 below the magnetic transition, and qualitative differences in $κ(T)$ between single crystalline and polycrystalline BaFe2As2 are utilized to discuss anisotropic scattering. This study highlights how measuring $κ$ near $T_c$ in novel superconductors can be useful as a means to probe the potential role of spin fluctuations.

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arXiv2013

Pressure-induced enhancement of superconductivity and suppression of semiconducting behavior in Ln(O0.5F0.5)BiS2 (Ln = La, Ce) compounds

Electrical resistivity measurements as a function of temperature between 1 K and 300 K were performed at various pressures up to 3 GPa on the superconducting layered compounds Ln(O0.5F0.5)BiS2 (Ln = La, Ce). At atmospheric pressure, La(O0.5F0.5)BiS2 and Ce(O0.5F0.5)BiS2 have superconducting critical temperatures, Tc, of 3.3 K and 2.3 K, respectively. For both compounds, the superconducting critical temperature Tc initially increases, reaches a maximum value of 10.1 K for La(O0.5F0.5)BiS2 and 6.7 K for CeO(0.5F0.5)BiS2, and then gradually decreases with increasing pressure. Both samples also exhibit transient behavior in the region between the lower Tc phase near atmospheric pressure and the higher Tc phase. This region is characterized by a broadening of the superconducting transition, in which Tc and the transition width, delta Tc, are reversible with increasing and decreasing pressure. There is also an appreciable pressure-induced and hysteretic suppression of semiconducting behavior up to the pressure at which the maximum value of Tc is found. At pressures above the value at which the maximum in Tc occurs, there is a gradual decrease of Tc and further suppression of the semiconducting behavior with pressure, both of which are reversible.

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arXiv2013

Distinguishing $s^{\pm}$ and $s^{++}$ electron pairing symmetries by neutron spin resonance in superconducting NaFe$_{0.935}$Co$_{0.045}$As

A determination of the superconducting (SC) electron pairing symmetry forms the basis for establishing a microscopic mechansim for superconductivity. For iron pnictide superconductors, the $s^\pm$-pairing symmetry theory predicts the presence of a sharp neutron spin resonance at an energy below the sum of hole and electron SC gap energies ($E\leq 2Δ$) below $T_c$. On the other hand, the $s^{++}$-pairing symmetry expects a broad spin excitation enhancement at an energy above $2Δ$ below $T_c$. Although the resonance has been observed in iron pnictide superconductors at an energy below $2Δ$ consistent with the $s^\pm$-pairing symmetry, the mode has also be interpreted as arising from the $s^{++}$-pairing symmetry with $E\ge 2Δ$ due to its broad energy width and the large uncertainty in determining the SC gaps. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to reveal a sharp resonance at E=7 meV in SC NaFe$_{0.935}$Co$_{0.045}$As ($T_c = 18$ K). On warming towards $T_c$, the mode energy hardly softens while its energy width increases rapidly. By comparing with calculated spin-excitations spectra within the $s^{\pm}$ and $s^{++}$-pairing symmetries, we conclude that the ground-state resonance in NaFe$_{0.935}$Co$_{0.045}$As is only consistent with the $s^{\pm}$-pairing, and is inconsistent with the $s^{++}$-pairing symmetry.

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arXiv2013

Density of states of disordered topological superconductor-semiconductor hybrid nanowires

Using Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equations we numerically calculate the disorder averaged density of states of disordered semiconductor nanowires driven into a putative topological p-wave superconducting phase by spin-orbit coupling, Zeeman spin splitting and s-wave superconducting proximity effect induced by a nearby superconductor. Comparing with the corresponding theoretical self-consistent Born approximation (SCBA) results treating disorder effects, we comment on the topological phase diagram of the system in the presence of increasing disorder. Although disorder strongly suppresses the zero-bias peak (ZBP) associated with the Majorana zero mode, we find some clear remnant of a ZBP even when the topological gap has essentially vanished in the SCBA theory because of disorder. We explicitly compare effects of disorder on the numerical density of states in the topological and trivial phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Non-adiabatic processes in Majorana qubit systems

We investigate the non-adiabatic processes occurring during the manipulations of Majorana qubits in 1-D semiconducting wires with proximity induced superconductivity. Majorana qubits are usually protected by the excitation gap. Yet, manipulations performed at a finite pace can introduce both decoherence and renormalization effects. Though exponentially small for slow manipulations, these effects are important as they may constitute the ultimate decoherence mechanism. Moreover, as adiabatic topological manipulations fail to produce a universal set of quantum gates, non-adiabatic manipulations might be necessary to perform quantum computation.

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arXiv2013

Finite temperature and pressure molecular dynamics for BaFe2As2

We study the temperature and pressure dependence of the structural and electronic properties of the iron pnictide superconductor BaFe2As2. We use density functional theory based Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the system at temperatures from T=5 K to 150 K and pressures from P=0 GPa to 30 GPa. When increasing the pressure at low temperature, we find the two transitions from an orthorhombic to a tetragonal and to a collapsed tetragonal structure that are also observed in zero temperature structure relaxations and in experiment. However, these transitions are considerably smeared out at finite temperature, whereas the critical pressure for the first transition increases with temperature. We also analyze the electronic structure of BaFe2As2 at finite temperature and work out differences between the time averaged band structure and Fermi surface at finite temperature compared to the known zero temperature results. Our results should be helpful for resolving some open issues in experimental reports for BaFe2As2 under high pressure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Thermopower and the Mott formula for a Majorana edge state

We study the thermoelectric effect between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state. In the tunneling limit, we first use the Landuaer-Buttiker formalism to derive the Mott formula relating the thermopower and the differential conductance between a conducting lead and a superconductor. When the tunneling takes place between a conducting lead and a Majorana edge state, we show that a non-vanishing thermopower can exist. Combining measurements of the differential conductance and the voltage difference induced by the temperature difference between the conducting lead and the edge state, the Mott formula provides a unique way to infer the temperature of the Majorana edge state.

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arXiv2013

Equivalent topological invariants for one-dimensional Majorana wires in symmetry class D

Topological superconductors in one spatial dimension exhibiting a single Majorana bound state at each end are distinguished from trivial gapped systems by a Z_2 topological invariant. Originally, this invariant was calculated by Kitaev in terms of the Pfaffian of the Majorana representation of the Hamiltonian: The sign of this Pfaffian divides the set of all gapped quadratic forms of Majorana fermions into two inequivalent classes. In the more familiar Bogoliubov de Gennes mean field description of superconductivity, an emergent particle hole symmetry gives rise to a quantized Zak-Berry phase the value of which is also a topological invariant. In this work, we explicitly show the equivalence of these two formulations by relating both of them to the phase winding of the transformation matrix that brings the Majorana representation matrix of the Hamiltonian into its Jordan normal form.

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arXiv2013

Singlet-Triplet Superconducting Quantum Magnetometer

Motivated by the recent experimental realization of a quantum interference transistor based on the superconducting proximity effect, we here demonstrate that the inclusion of a textured ferromagnet both strongly enhances the flux sensitivity of such a device and additionally allows for singlet-triplet switching by tuning a bias voltage. This functionality makes explicit use of the induced spin-triplet correlations due to the magnetic texture. Whereas the existence of such triplet correlations is well-known, our finding demonstrates how spin-triplet superconductivity may be utilized for concrete technology, namely to improve the functionality of ultra-sensitive magnetometers.

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arXiv2013

Measurement of the elastoresistivity coefficients of the underdoped iron-arsenide Ba(Fe$_{0.975}$Co$_{0.025}$)$_2$As$_2$

A new method is presented for measuring terms in the elastoresistivity tensor $m_{ij}$ of single crystal samples with tetragonal symmetry. The technique is applied to a representative underdoped Fe-arsenide, Ba(Fe$_{0.975}$Co$_{0.025}$)$_2$As$_2$, revealing an anomalously large and anisotropic elastoresistance in comparison to simple metals. The $m_{66}$ coefficient follows a Curie-Weiss temperature dependence, providing direct evidence that the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural phase transition that occurs at $T_s$ = 97.5 K in this material is not the result of a true-proper ferro-elastic transition. Rather, the material suffers a pseudo-proper transition for which the lattice strain is not the primary order parameter.

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arXiv2013

d-wave superconductivity and its coexistence with antiferromagnetism in t-J-U model: Statistically consistent Gutzwiller approach

We discuss the coexistence of antiferromagnetism and d-wave superconductivity within the so-called statistically-consistent Gutzwiller approximation (SGA) applied to the t-J-U model. In this approach, the averages calculated in a self-consistent manner coincide with those determined variationally. Such consistency is not guaranteed within the standard renormalized mean field theory. With the help of SGA, we show that for the typical value J/|t| = 1/3, coexistence of antiferromagnetism (AF) and superconductivity (SC) appears only for U/|t| > 10.6 and in a very narrow range of doping (δ< 0.006) in the vicinity of the Mott insulating state, in contrast to some previous reports. In the coexistent AF+SC phase, a staggered spin-triplet component of the superconducting gap appears also naturally; its value is very small.

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arXiv2013

The Kerr rotation in the unconventional superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

The interpretation of Kerr rotation measurements in the superconducting phase of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is a controversial topic. Both intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms have been proposed, and it has been argued that the intrinsic response vanishes by symmetry. We focus on the intrinsic contribution and clarify several conflicting results in the literature. On the basis of symmetry considerations and detailed calculations we show that the intrinsic Kerr signal is not forbidden in a general multi- band system but has a rich structure in the near infrared regime. We distinguish different optical transitions determined by the superconducting gap (far infrared) and the inter orbital coupling of the normal state (near infrared). We argue that the low frequency transitions do not contribute to the Hall conductivity while only the inter-orbital transitions in the near infrared regime contribute. Finally, we discuss the difficulties to connect the calculations for the optical Hall conductivity to the experimental measurement of the Kerr angle. We will compare different approximations which might lead to conflicting results.

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arXiv2013

Coupling of electronic and magnetic properties in Fe1+y(Te1-xSex)

We have studied the coupling of electronic and magnetic properties in Fe1+y(Te1-xSex) via systematic specific heat, magnetoresistivity, and Hall coefficient measurements on two groups of samples with y = 0.02 and 0.1. In the y = 0.02 series, we find that the 0.09 < x < 0.3 composition region, where superconductivity is suppressed, has large Sommerfeld coefficient Gamma (~55-65 mJ/mol K^2), positive Hall coefficient R_H and negative magnetoresistance MR at low temperature, in sharp contrast with the x=0.4-0.5 region where Gamma drops to ~ 26 mJ/mol K^2 and R_H / MR becomes negative/positive at low temperature. Dramatic changes of Gamma, as well as sign reversal in low-temperature RH and MR, are also observed across the x~0.1 boundary where the long-range antiferromagnetic order is suppressed. However, for the system with rich interstitial excess Fe (y = 0.1), where bulk superconductivity is suppressed even for x=0.4-0.5, the variations of Gamma, R_H and MR with x are distinct from those seen in y = 0.02 system: Gamma is ~40 mJ/mol K^2 for 0.1 < x < 0.3, and drops to ~ 34 mJ/mol K^2 for x = 0.4-0.5; R_H and MR does not show any sign reversal as x is increased above 0.3. We will show that all these results can be understood in light of the evolution of the incoherent magnetic scattering by (pi,0) magnetic fluctuations with Se concentration. In addition, with the suppression of magnetic scattering by magnetic field, we observed the surprising effect of a remarkable increase in the superconducting volume fraction under moderate magnetic fields for x=0.3-0.4 samples in the y = 0.02 system.

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arXiv2013

Structural, Magnetic, and Superconducting Properties of Ba1-xNaxFe2As2

We report the results of a systematic investigation of the phase diagram of the iron-based superconductor system, Ba1-xNaxFe2As2, from x = 0.1 to x = 1.0 using high resolution neutron and x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements. We find that the coincident structural and magnetic phase transition to an orthorhombic (O) structure with space group Fmmm and a striped antiferromagnet (AF) with space group F(C)mm'm' in Ba1-xNaxFe2As2 is of first order. A complete suppression of the magnetic phase is observed by x = 0.30, and bulk superconductivity occurs at a critical concentration near 0.15. We compare the new findings to the previously reported results of the hole-doped Ba1-xKxFe2As2 solid solution in order to resolve the differing effects of band filling and A-site cation size on the properties of the magnetic and superconducting ground states. The substantial size difference between Na and K causes various changes in the lattice trends, yet the overarching property phase diagram from the Ba1-xKxFe2As2 phase diagram carries over to the Ba1-xNaxFe2As2 solid solution. We note that the composition dependence of the c axis turns over from positive to negative around x = 0.35, unlike the K-substituted materials. We show that this can be understood by invoking steric effects; primarily the Fe2As2 layer shape is dictated mostly by the electronic filling, which secondarily induces an interlayer spacing adjusted to compensate for the given cation volume. This exemplifies the primacy of even subtle features in the Fe2As2 layer in controlling both the structure and properties in the uncollapsed 122 phases.

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arXiv2013

Probing active/passive bands by quasiparticle interference in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$

The quasiparticle interference (QPI) in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ is theoretically studied based on two different pairing models in order to propose an experimental method to test them. For a recently proposed two-dimensional model with pairing primarily from the $γ$ band, we found clear QPI peaks evolving with energy and their locations can be determined from the tips of the constant-energy contour (CEC). On the other hand, for a former quasi-one-dimensional model with pairing on the $α$ and $β$ bands, the QPI spectra are almost dispersionless and may involve off-shell contributions to the scatterings beyond the CEC. The different behaviors of the QPI in these two models may help to resolve the controversy of active/passive bands and whether Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ is a topological superconductor.

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arXiv2013

Soft vortex matter in a type-I/type-II superconducting bilayer

Magnetic flux patterns are known to strongly differ in the intermediate state of type-I and type-II superconductors. Using a type-I/type-II bilayer we demonstrate hybridization of these flux phases into a plethora of unique new ones. Owing to a complicated multi-body interaction between individual fluxoids, many different intriguing patterns are possible under applied magnetic field, such as few-vortex clusters, vortex chains, mazes or labyrinthal structures resembling the phenomena readily encountered in soft matter physics. However, in our system the patterns are tunable by sample parameters, magnetic field, current and temperature, which reveals transitions from short-range clustering to long-range ordered phases such as parallel chains, gels, glasses and crystalline vortex lattices, or phases where lamellar type-I flux domains in one layer serve as a bedding potential for type-II vortices in the other - configurations clearly beyond the soft-matter analogy.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Absence of split pairs in the cross-correlations of a highly transparent normal metal-superconductor-normal metal electron beam splitter

The nonlocal conductance and the current cross-correlations are investigated within scattering theory for three-terminal normal metal-superconductor-normal metal (NSN) hybrid structures. The positive cross-correlations at high transparency found by Mélin, Benjamin and Martin [Phys. Rev. B 77, 094512 (2008)] are not due to crossed Andreev reflection. On the other hand, local processes can be enhanced by reflectionless tunneling but this mechanism has little influence on nonlocal processes and on current cross-correlations. Therefore Cooper pair splitting cannot be enhanced by reflectionless tunneling. Overall, this shows that NSN structures with highly transparent or effectively highly transparent interfaces are not suited to experimentally producing entangled split pairs of electrons.

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