Precise texture determination of the spin density wave/superconductivity mixture in the phase separation regime of

Abstract

Abstract At low temperature, in a narrow range of pressure, the organic conductor ( TMTSF ) 2 PF 6 exhibits a phase coexistence between two ground states, a spin density wave (SDW) state and a metallic state which presents a superconducting (SC) transition at low temperature. This phase coexistence regime extends from 6.7 kbar up to 9.5 kbar . From resistivity measurements performed along the three crystallographic a -, b ′ - and c * -axes, we are able to extract an image of the evolution of the texture of ( TMTSF ) 2 PF 6 in its phase coexistence regime at low temperatures: at low SC concentration, SC regions form bubbles mostly extended along the c * -axis. Upon increasing the pressure, these bubbles extend to filaments along the c * -axis which then stacks to form slabs perpendicular to the a -axis in agreement with theoretical work on the formation of solitons in an SDW system.