Presence Of Antiferromagnetic Fluctuations Research Articles

Evolution of Magnetic Double Helix and Quantum Criticality near a Dome of Superconductivity in CrAs

At ambient pressure CrAs undergoes a first-order transition into a double-helical magnetic state at TN = 265 K, which is accompanied by a structural transition. The recent discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in CrAs makes it important to clarify the nature of quantum phase transitions out of its coupled structural/helimagnetic order. Here we show, via neutron diffraction on the single-crystal CrAs under hydrostatic pressure (P), that the combined order is suppressed at Pc ~ 10 kbar, near which bulk superconductivity develops with a maximal transition temperature Tc ~ 2 K. We further show that the coupled order is also completely suppressed by phosphorus doping in CrAs1-xPx at a critical xc ~ 0.05, above which inelastic neutron scattering evidenced persistent antiferromagnetic correlations, providing a possible link between magnetism and superconductivity. In line with the presence of antiferromagnetic fluctuations near Pc (xc), the A coefficient of the quadratic temperature dependence of resistivity exhibits a dramatic enhancement as P (x) approaches Pc (xc), around which Res(T) has a non-Fermi-liquid form. Accordingly, the electronic specific-heat coefficient of CrAs1-xPx peaks out around xc. These properties provide clear evidences for quantum criticality, which we interpret as originating from a nearly second-order helimagnetic quantum phase transition that is concomitant with a first-order structural transition. Our findings in CrAs highlight the distinct characteristics of quantum criticality in bad metals, thereby bringing out new insights into the physics of unconventional superconductivity such as occurring in the high-Tc iron pnictides.

Interface between heavy fermions and normal electrons investigated by spatially resolved nuclear magnetic resonance

We have studied the superlattices with alternating block layers (BLs) of heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 and conventional-metal YbCoIn5 by site-selective nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectroscopy, which uniquely offers spatially-resolved dynamical magnetic information. We find that the presence of antiferromagnetic fluctuations is confined to the Ce-BLs, indicating that magnetic degrees of freedom of f-electrons are quenched inside the Yb-BLs. Contrary to simple expectations that the two-dimensionalization enhances fluctuations, we observe that antiferromagnetic fluctuations are rapidly suppressed with decreasing Ce-BL thickness. Moreover, the suppression is more prominent near the interfaces between the BLs. These results imply significant effects of local inversion-symmetry breaking at the interfaces.

Optical and dc conductivity of the two-dimensional Hubbard model in the pseudogap regime and across the antiferromagnetic quantum critical point including vertex corrections

The conductivity of the two-dimensional Hubbard model is particularly relevant for high-temperature superconductors. Vertex corrections are expected to be important because of strongly momentum dependent self-energies. We use the Two-Particle Self-Consistent approach that satisfies crucial constraints such as the Mermin-Wagner theorem, the Pauli principle and sum rules in order to reach non-perturbative regimes. This approach is reliable from weak to intermediate coupling. A functional derivative approach ensures that vertex corrections are included in a way that satisfies the f sum-rule. The two types of vertex corrections that we find are the antiferromagnetic analogs of the Maki-Thompson and Aslamasov-Larkin contributions of superconducting fluctuations to the conductivity but, contrary to the latter, they include non-perturbative effects. The resulting analytical expressions must be evaluated numerically. The calculations are impossible unless a number of advanced numerical algorithms are used. A maximum entropy approach is specially developed for analytical continuation of our results. The numerical results are for nearest neighbor hoppings. In the pseudogap regime induced by two-dimensional antiferromagnetic fluctuations, the effect of vertex corrections is dramatic. Without vertex corrections the resistivity increases as we enter the pseudogap regime. Adding vertex corrections leads to a drop in resistivity, as observed in some high temperature superconductors. At high temperature, the resistivity saturates at the Ioffe-Regel limit. At the quantum critical point and beyond, the resistivity displays both linear and quadratic temperature dependence and there is a correlation between the linear term and the superconducting transition temperature. A hump is observed in the mid-infrared range of the optical conductivity in the presence of antiferromagnetic fluctuations.

Magnetoresistance in High-TcSuperconductors: The Role of Vertex Corrections

In high- T c cuprates, the orbital magnetoresistance in plane ( Δ ρ/ρ) is anomalously enhanced at lower tempemeratures compared with conventional Fermi liquids, and thus Kohler's rule is strongly violated. Moreover, it should be noted that an intimate relation between Δ ρ/ρ and the Hall coefficient ( R H ), Δρ/ρ∝( R H /ρ) 2 , holds well experimentally, and is called the “modified Kohler's rule”. In this letter, we study this long-standing problem in terms of the nearly antiferromagnetic (AF) Fermi liquid. We analyze the exact expression for Δ ρ/ρ by including the vertex corrections (VC's) to keep the conservation laws, and find the approximate relation Δ ρ/ρ∝ξ AF 4 ρ -2 · H 2 (ξ AF being the AF correlation length) in the presence of AF fluctuations. The factor ξ AF 4 , which comes from the VC's for the current, gives the additional temperature dependence. By taking account of the relation R H ∝ξ AF 2 [Kontani et al. : Phys. Rev. B 59 (1999) 14723], we can naturally explain the modified Kohler's rule. In conclusion, based on the Fermi liquid theory, the famous seemingly non-Fermi liquid behaviors of R H and Δ ρ/ρ in high- T c cuprates are naturally understood on an equal footing.

NMR Studies of the Normal State of High Temperature Superconductors

We review NMR and NQR studies in the normal state of high-T c superconducting cuprates. Emphasis is given on the three major contributions brought by these techniques: the presence of antiferromagnetic fluctuations, the possible justification of a single spin fluid model, and the opening of a pseudogap in the spin excitations for underdoped compounds. Some recent developments are addressed and compared to theoretical models. In particular, quantitative analysis of the nuclear relaxation are detailed for 63 Cu, 89 Y and 17 O nuclei, enabling a comparison with inelastic neutron scattering data, and finally pointing out to a serious difficulty with the one-band approach.