Ferromagnetic Superconductor Research Articles

ChemInform Abstract: Spin Fluctuation and Fermi Surface Instability in Ferromagnetic Superconductors

AbstractReview: emphasis on UGe2, URhGe and UCoGe; 45 refs.

Spin-polaron band in the ferromagnetic heavy-fermion superconductor UGe2

It has long been believed that coexistence among ferromagnetic ordering, superconductivity or heavy-fermion behaviour is impossible, as the former supports parallel spin alignment while the latter two phenomena assume a spin-singlet configuration. This understanding has recently been challenged by a number of observations in uranium intermetallic systems where superconductivity (SC) is found within a ferromagnetic state and both ordering phenomena are facilitated by the same set of comparatively heavy quasiparticles which bind into spin-triplet pairs in the SC state. Within the heavy-fermion scenario, this mechanism necessarily assumes that the magnetism has a band character. This band is expected to be responsible for all three phenomena – heavy-fermion behaviour, ferromagnetism and superconductivity – although its nature and the nature of the heavy quasiparticles have so far remained unclear. Our high-field muon spin rotation measurements are indicative of spin polarons of subnanometer size in UGe2. These spin polarons behave as heavy quasiparticles made of 5f electrons. Once coherence is established, they may form a narrow spin-polaron band which thus may provide a natural reconciliation of itinerant ferromagnetism with spin-triplet superconductivity and heavy-fermion behaviour.

Giant magnetocaloric effect in ferromagnetic superconductor RuSr2GdCu2O8

We have investigated the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of ferromagnetic superconductor Ru(Sr1–xLax)2GdCu2O8 (x = 0–0.10) by magnetization and heat capacity measurements. RuSr2GdCu2O8 shows onset of superconductivity at around 46 K, which coexists with the weak ferromagnetic ordering of the RuO2 moments and the antiferromagnetic ordering of the Gd moments. Both superconducting RuSr2GdCu2O8 and non-superconducting Ru(Sr0.9La0.1)2GdCu2O8 compounds exhibit a large magnetic entropy change due to the field-induced metamagnetic transition. The maximum values of entropy change, adiabatic temperature change, and refrigerant capacity are ∼15.5 J kg−1 K−1, ∼14 K, and ∼125 J kg−1, respectively, for a field change of 0–7 T for both the compounds. These magnetocaloric parameters also have reasonably good values for a moderate field change (2–3 T), therefore, fulfilling the necessary conditions for refrigeration in the low-temperature region.

The spin valve device based on asymmetrical ferromagnet-superconductor trilayer in an external magnetic field

We theoretically explore superconducting proximity effect for the three-layered ferromagnet/superconductor (FS) heterostructures. We consider the boundary value problem for the Usadel-like equations in the case of so-called "dirty" limit. The different mutual orientations of the F layers magnetizations are examined in presence of the external magnetic field. The results of numerical calculations for critical temperature Tc at various parameters of FS structures are presented. The appearance of solitary superconductivity is predicted for the F1F2S system. We also discuss possible spin valve applications for F1F2S trilayers.

Interference phenomena and long-range proximity effect in superconductor/ferromagnet systems

We study the novel interference mechanism of the long-range proximity effect in superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor (SFS) structures in the ballistic regime. Even a small non-collinear magnetic domain near the center of a ferromagnetic weak link is shown to restore the singlet supercurrent inherent to the normal metal. The underlying physics of the effect is the magnetic scattering of the Cooper pair by the domain, which reverses total momentum of the pair in the ferromagnet and thus compensates the phase gain before and after the spin-flip scattering. The above phenomenon opens a way to easily control the properties of SFS junctions and, inversely, to manipulate the magnetic moment via the Josephson current.

Magnetic excitations in the ferromagnetic superconductor UGe2 under pressure

Ferromagnetism and superconductivity coexist in UGe2 under pressures in the range of 10-16 kbar. Here, equal spin electrons are paired to give a spin triplet state but the pairing mechanism is still not verified experimentally. The work presented here attempts to verify whether the longitudinal magnetic fluctuations associated with a magnetic transition within the ferromagnetic state might be responsible for the electron pairing. We show that the energy scale of these fluctuations must be smaller than those associated with the second order phase transition at the Curie temperature. Furthermore, there is no significant change of the energy scale of the fluctuations at the Curie temperature as a function of pressure.

Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity inCeO0.3F0.7BiS2

Bulk magnetization, transport and neutron scattering measurements were performed to investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of a polycrystalline sample of the newly discovered ferromagnetic superconductor, CeO$_{0.3}$F$_{0.7}$BiS$_{2}$. Ferromagnetism develops below T$_{FM}$ = 6.54(8) K and superconductivity is found to coexist with the ferromagnetic state below T$_{SC}$ ~ 4.5 K. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements reveal a very weakly dispersive magnetic excitation at 1.8 meV that can be explained by an Ising-like spin Hamiltonian. Under application of an external magnetic field, the direction of the magnetic moment changes from the c-axis to the ab-plane and the 1.8 meV excitation splits into two modes. A possible mechanism for the unusual magnetism and its relation to superconductivity is discussed.

Superconducting gap of UCoGe probed by thermal transport

Thermal conductivity measurements in the superconducting state of the ferromagnet UCoGe were performed at very low temperatures and under magnetic field on samples of different qualities and with the heat current along the three crystallographic axis. This allows to disentangle intrinsic and extrinsic effects, confirm the situation of multigap superconductivity and shed new light on the situation expected or claimed for the gap in these ferromagnetic superconductors, like evidences of absence of "partially gapped" Fermi surfaces.

Detection of small exchange fields in S/F structures

Ferromagnetic materials with exchange fields Eex smaller or of the order of the superconducting gap Δ are important for applications of corresponding (s-wave) superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor (SFS) junctions. Presently such materials are not known but there are several proposals how to create them. Small exchange fields are in principle difficult to detect. Based on our results we propose reliable detection methods of such small Eex. For exchange fields smaller than the superconducting gap the subgap differential conductance of the normal metal–ferromagnet–insulator–superconductor (NFIS) junction shows a peak at the voltage bias equal to the exchange field of the ferromagnetic layer, eV=Eex. Thus measuring the subgap conductance one can reliably determine small Eex<Δ. In the opposite case Eex>Δ one can determine the exchange field in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiment. The density of states of the FS bilayer measured at the outer border of the ferromagnet shows a peak at the energy equal to the exchange field, E=Eex. This peak can be only visible for small enough exchange fields of the order of few Δ.

Interelectronic interaction in dirty FS trilayers: A manifestation of “hidden” superconductivity

The properties of the ferromagnet/superconductor (FS) system are theoretically studied. Electron–electron pairing interaction in F layers is taken into account. The boundary value problem for the Usadel-like equations is considered in the case of so-called “dirty” limit. It is shown that both asymmetry and interelectronic interaction essentially influence on the critical properties of the F1SF2 trilayer. The appearance of the solitary superconductivity is predicted for this asymmetrical trilayer.

Multigap Superconductivity in the Ferromagnetic Superconductor UCoGe Revealed by Thermal Conductivity Measurements

We performed thermal conductivity measurements on a single crystal of the ferromagnetic superconductor UCoGe under magnetic field. Two different temperature dependencies of the thermal conductivity are observed, for H→∥b→: linear at low magnetic field and quadratic for magnetic field larger than 1 Tesla. At the same field value, a plateau appears in the field dependency of the residual term of thermal conductivity. Such observations suggest a multigap superconductivity with a line of nodes in the superconducting gap.

Andreev-spectroscopy study of unconventional superconductivity in MgB2:(La,Sr)MnO3 nanocomposite

Unconventional high-temperature superconductivity in MgB2:La0:65Sr0:35MnO3 (MgB:LSMO) nanocomposite has been found recently [V. N. Krivoruchko and V. Yu. Tarenkov, Phys. Rev. B 86, 10502 (2012)]. In this report, the symmetry of the nanocomposite superconducting order parameter and plausible pairing mechanisms have been studied by the point-contact Andreev-reflection (PCAR) spectroscopy. To clarify the experimental results obtained, we consider a model of a ferromagnetic superconductor, which assumes a coexistence of itinerant ferromagnetism and mixed-parity superconductivity. The Balian–Werthamer state, with quasiparticle gap topology of the same form as that of the ordinary s- wave state, fits the experimental data reasonably well. Utilizing the extended Eliashberg formalizm, we calculated the contribution of MgB2 in the total composite's conductivity and estimated the magnitude of the electron–phonon effects originated from MgB2 in I–V characteristics of the composite at above-gap energies. It was found that distinctive features observed in the PC spectra of the MgB:LSMO samples and conventionally attributed to the electron–phonon interaction cannot be related to the MgB2 phonons. It is argued that the detected singularities may be a manifestation of the electron-spectrum renormalizations due to strong magnetoelastic (magnon–phonon) interaction in LSMO.

Vortex structures and magnetic domain patterns in the superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid bilayer

Superconducting vortices and magnetic domain patterns’ evolution in the superconductor-ferromagnet (SC/FM) hybrid bilayer are investigated within the Ginzburg—Landau (GL) theory of superconductivity, in combination with the Landau—Lifshitz—Gilbert (LLG) equation of ferromagnetism. Magnetic domain patterns in the ferromagnetic thin film and the vortices’ nucleation in the superconducting layer for the hybrid bilayer, subjected to perpendicular magnetic fields, are obtained by numerical simulations. A dynamical evolution picture of the magnetic domain patterns and the associated superconducting vortices’ nucleation are clearly shown. The effect of geometry parameters and physical parameters on the magnetic domain and superconducting vortex evolution are discussed. The magnetization curve of the SC film has also been illustrated. We found that the vortex dynamic behavior of the superconducting film changes substantially, and the correlated magnetic hysteresis loss is significantly reduced due to the presence of the ferromagnetic thin layer. In addition, the spontaneous vortex-antivortex (V-AV) pairs’ nucleation in the hybrid bilayer are investigated.

Fermi Surface Instabilities in Ferromagnetic Superconductor URhGe

The field-reentrant (field-reinforced) superconductivity on ferromagnetic superconductors is one of the most interesting topics in unconventional superconductivity. The enhancement of effective mass and the induced ferromagnetic fluctuations play key roles for reentrant superconductivity. However, the associated change of the Fermi surface, which is often observed at (pseudo-) metamagnetic transition, can also be a key ingredient. In order to study the Fermi surface instability, we performed Hall effect measurements in the ferromagnetic superconductor URhGe. The Hall effect of URhGe is well explained by two contributions, namely by the normal Hall effect and by the large anomalous Hall effect due to skew scattering. The large change in the Hall coefficient is observed at low fields between the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic states for H // c-axis (easy-magnetization axis) in the orthorhombic structure, indicating that the Fermi surface is reconstructed in the ferromagnetic state below the Curie temperature (T_Curie=9.5K). At low temperatures (T << T_Curie), when the field is applied along the b-axis, the reentrant superconductivity was observed in both the Hall resistivity and the magnetoresistance below 0.4K. Above 0.4K, a large jump with the first-order nature was detected in the Hall resistivity at a spin-reorientation field H_R ~ 12.5T, demonstrating that the marked change of the Fermi surface occurs between the ferromagnetic state and the polarized state above H_R. The results can be understood by the Lifshitz-type transition, induced by the magnetic field or by the change of the effective magnetic field.

Lattice gauge theory for condensed matter physics: ferromagnetic superconductivity as its example

Recent theoretical studies of various strongly-correlated systems in condensed matter physics reveal that the lattice gauge theory (LGT) developed in high-energy physics is quite a useful tool to understand physics of these systems. Knowledge of LGT is to become a necessary item even for condensed matter physicists. In the first part of this paper, we present a concise review of LGT for the reader who wants to understand its basics for the first time. For illustration, we choose the Abelian Higgs model, a typical and quite useful LGT, which is the lattice version of the Ginzburg–Landau model interacting with a U(1) gauge field (vector potential). In the second part, we present an account of the recent progress in the study of ferromagnetic superconductivity (SC) as an example of application of LGT to topics in condensed matter physics. As the ferromagnetism (FM) and SC are competing orders with each other, large fluctuations are expected to take place and therefore nonperturbative methods are required for theoretical investigation. After we introduce a LGT describing the FMSC, we study its phase diagram and topological excitations (vortices of Cooper pairs) by Monte Carlo simulations.

ChemInform Abstract: Superconductivity and Ferromagnetic Quantum Criticality in Uranium Compounds

AbstractReview: 46 refs.

Macroscopic description of the ferromagnetic superconductors

We present an improved analysis of the phase transitions in spin-triplet ferromagnetic superconductors within Ginzburg–Landau theory. We put special emphasis on the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity. We present a detailed analysis of the different phases that can occur and analyze the question under which conditions the phase transitions from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence of ferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity are possible when compared to other phase transitions. The conditions for the phase transitions and the stability conditions are calculated. On the basis of this model, it is argued that the transition from normal phase to the mixed phase of coexistence is always of first order. It was observed from the theoretical calculations that the transition from the ferromagnetic phase to the coexistence phase can cross over from the first to the second order at the tricritical point.

On magnon mediated Cooper pair formation in ferromagnetic superconductors

Identification of pairing mechanism leading to ferromagnetic superconductivity is one of the most challenging issues in condensed matter physics. Although different models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, a quantitative understanding about this pairing is yet to be achieved. Using the localized-itinerant model, we find that in ferromagnetic superconducting materials both triplet pairing and singlet pairing of electrons are possible through magnon exchange depending upon whether the Debye cut off frequency of magnons is greater or lesser than the Hund's coupling (J) multiplied by average spin (S) per site. Taking into account the repulsive interaction due to the existence of paramagnons, we also find an expression for effective interaction potential between a pair of electrons with opposite spins. We apply the developed formalism in case of UGe2 and URhGe. The condition of singlet pairing is found to be fulfilled in these cases, as was previously envisaged by Suhl [Suhl, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 167007 (2001)]. We compute the critical temperatures of URhGe at ambient pressure and of UGe2 under different pressures for the first time through BCS equation. Thus, this work outlines a very simple way to evaluate critical temperature in case of a superconducting system. A close match with the available experimental results strongly supports our theoretical treatment.

Spin fluctuation and Fermi surface instability in ferromagnetic superconductors

Abstract We review the ferromagnetic superconductivity observed in the uranium based compounds, namely UGe2, URhGe and UCoGe, where the spin-triplet state is most likely realized. An unusual upper critical field H c2 , which is enhanced under a magnetic field in a certain field direction, is discussed in terms of spin fluctuations and of Fermi surface instabilities.

Fermi surface, magnetic, and superconducting properties in actinide compounds

Abstract The de Haas–van Alphen effect, which is a powerful method to explore Fermi surface properties, has been observed in cerium, uranium, and nowadays even in neptunium and plutonium compounds. Here, we present the results of several studies concerning the Fermi surface properties of the heavy fermion superconductors UPt3 and NpPd5Al2, and of the ferromagnetic pressure-induced superconductor UGe2, together with those of some related compounds for which fascinating anisotropic superconductivity, magnetism, and heavy fermion behavior has been observed.