K Kuga

Possible Multiple Gap Superconductivity with Line Nodes in Heavily Hole-Doped Superconductor KFe2As2 Studied by 75As Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance and Specific Heat

We report the 75 As nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) and specific heat measurements of the heavily hole-doped superconductor KFe 2 As 2 (superconducting transition temperature T c ≃3.5 K). The spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/ T 1 in the superconducting state exhibits a gradual temperature dependence with no coherence peak below T c . The quasiparticle specific heat C QP / T shows a small jump, which is about 30% of the electronic specific heat coefficient just below T c . The C QP / T suggests the existence of low-energy quasiparticle excitation at the lowest measurement temperature T =0.4 K≃ T c /10. The T dependences of 1/ T 1 and C QP / T can be explained by a multiple nodal superconducting gap scenario rather than by a multiple fully gapped s ± -wave scenario determined using simple gap analysis.

Strong valence fluctuation in the quantum critical heavy fermion superconductor β-YbAlB4: a hard x-ray photoemission study.

Electronic structures of the quantum critical superconductor β-YbAlB4 and its polymorph α-YbAlB4 are investigated by using bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. From the Yb 3d core level spectra, the values of the Yb valence are estimated to be ∼2.73 and ∼2.75 for α- and β-YbAlB4, respectively, thus providing clear evidence for valence fluctuations. The valence band spectra of these compounds also show Yb2+ peaks at the Fermi level. These observations establish an unambiguous case of a strong mixed valence at quantum criticality for the first time among heavy fermion systems, calling for a novel scheme for a quantum critical model beyond the conventional Doniach picture in β-YbAlB4.

Spin-Orbital Short-Range Order on a Honeycomb-Based Lattice

Going to Ground Frustrated systems, in which the geometry of the crystal lattice stands in the way of achieving an energetic minimum on all lattice sites simultaneously, have the potential to remain disordered down to the lowest temperatures. Numerous experimental efforts to find a material with a truly fluctuating ground state have failed because ordering often sets in at a finite temperature owing to symmetry breaking. Nakatsuji et al. (p. 559; see the Perspective by Balents) identify the compound Ba3CuSb2O9 as a promising candidate for this state; the Cu-Sb dipoles reside on a hexagonal structure, forming fluctuating spin singlets. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the material does not order down to the millikelvin temperature range, remaining magnetically isotropic. Magnetic measurements indicate that a material remains disordered to millikelvin temperatures, thanks to its unusual lattice structure. Frustrated magnetic materials, in which local conditions for energy minimization are incompatible because of the lattice structure, can remain disordered to the lowest temperatures. Such is the case for Ba3CuSb2O9, which is magnetically anisotropic at the atomic scale but curiously isotropic on mesoscopic length and time scales. We find that the frustration of Wannier’s Ising model on the triangular lattice is imprinted in a nanostructured honeycomb lattice of Cu2+ ions that resists a coherent static Jahn-Teller distortion. The resulting two-dimensional random-bond spin-1/2 system on the honeycomb lattice has a broad spectrum of spin-dimer–like excitations and low-energy spin degrees of freedom that retain overall hexagonal symmetry.

Crystal growth, structure, and physical properties of Ln(Cu,Al)12 (Ln = Y, Ce, Pr, Sm, and Yb) and Ln(Cu,Ga)12 (Ln = Y, Gd–Er, and Yb)

Single crystals of Ln(Cu,Al)12 and Ln(Cu,Ga)12 compounds (Ln = Y, Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Ho, and Yb for Al and Ln = Y, Gd-Er, Yb for Ga) have been grown by flux-growth methods and characterized by means of single-crystal x-ray diffraction, complemented with microprobe analysis, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and heat capacity measurements. Ln(Cu,Ga)12 and Ln(Cu,Al)12 of the ThMn12 structure type crystallize in the tetragonal I4/mmm space group with lattice parameters a approximately 8.59 Å and c approximately 5.15 Å and a approximately 8.75 Å and c approximately 5.13 Å for Ga and Al containing compounds, respectively. For aluminium containing compounds, magnetic susceptibility data show Curie-Weiss paramagnetism in the Ce and Pr analogues down to 50 K with no magnetic ordering down to 3 K, whereas the Yb analogue shows a temperature-independent Pauli paramagnetism. Sm(Cu,Al)12 orders antiferromagnetically at T(N)approximately 5 K and interestingly exhibits Curie-Weiss behaviour down to 10 K with no Van Vleck contribution to the susceptibility. Specific heat data show that Ce(Cu,Al)12 is a heavy fermion antiferromagnet with T(N) approximately 2 K and with an electronic specific heat coefficient γ0 as large as 390 mJ K2 mol(-1). In addition, this is the first report of Pr(Cu,Al)12 and Sm(Cu,Al)12 showing an enhanced mass (approximately 80 and 120 mJ K(2) mol(-1)). For Ga containing analogues, magnetic susceptibility data also show the expected Curie-Weiss behaviour from Gd to Er, with the Yb analogue being once again a Pauli paramagnet. The antiferromagnetic transition temperatures range over 12.5, 13.5, 6.7, and 3.4 K for Gd, Tb, Dy, and Er. Metallic behaviour is observed down to 3 K for all Ga and Al analogues. A large positive magnetoresistance up to 150% at 9 T is also observed for Dy(Cu,Ga)12. The structure, magnetic, and transport properties of these compounds will be discussed.

Thermoelectric response near a quantum critical point of β-YbAlB4 and YbRh2Si2: a comparative study.

The thermoelectric coefficients have been measured down to a very low temperature for the Yb-based heavy-fermion compounds β-YbAlB4 and YbRh2Si2, often considered as model systems for the local quantum criticality case. We observe a striking difference in the behavior of the Seebeck coefficient S in the vicinity of their respective quantum critical point (QCP). Approaching the critical field, S/T is enhanced in β-YbAlB4, but drastically reduced in YbRh2Si2. The ratio of thermopower to specific heat remains constant for β-YbAlB4, but it is significantly reduced near the QCP in YbRh2Si2. In both systems, on the other hand, the Nernst coefficient shows a diverging behavior near the QCP. The interplay between valence and magnetic quantum criticality and the additional possibility of a Lifshitz transition crossing the critical field under magnetic field are discussed as the origin of the different behaviors of these compounds.

NMR/NQR and Specific Heat Studies of Iron Pnictide Superconductor KFe2As2

We report the 75 As nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) and specific heat measurements of the heavily hole-doped superconductor KFe 2 As 2 (superconducting transition temperature T c ≃3.5 K) using high quality single crystals. NMR Knight shifts in superconducting state clearly indicate that spin–singlet superconductivity realizes in this material. It is noted that the electronic specific heat coefficient of the material is 93.0 mJ/K 2 mol-fu and that the value is quite heavy for d electron system.

Local moment behaviors of the valence fluctuating systems β-YbAlB4 and α-YbAlB4

β-YbAlB4 is the first example of an Yb-based heavy Fermion superconductor with Tc = 80 mK and exhibits pronounced non-Fermi-liquid behavior above Tc. On the other hand, recent hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements have revealed strong intermediate valence of both β-YbAlB4 and its locally isostructural polymorph α-YbAlB4 . Here we present the results of the specific heat and magnetization measurements of β-YbAlB4 and α-YbAlB4 . The results indicate a Fermi liquid ground state for α-YbAlB4 in contrast to the quantum criticality found in β-YbAlB4 . Interestingly, both systems exhibit Kondo lattice behavior with large Wilson ratio below T* ~ 8K, through the renormalization of a high valence fluctuation scale ~ 200 K.

Intact quasiparticles at an unconventional quantum critical point

We report measurements of in-plane electrical and thermal transport properties in the limit T → 0 near the unconventional quantum critical point in the heavy-fermion metal β-YbAlB4. The high Kondo temperature TK � 200 K in this material allows us to probe transport extremely close to the critical point, at unusually small values of T/T K < 5 × 10 −4 . Here we find that the Wiedemann-Franz law is obeyed at the lowest temperatures, implying that the Landau quasiparticles remain intact in the critical region. At finite temperatures we observe a non-Fermi-liquid T -linear dependence of inelastic-scattering processes to energies lower than those previously accessed. These processes have a weaker temperature dependence than in comparable heavy fermion quantum critical systems, revealing a temperature scale of T ∼ 0.3 K which signals a sudden change in the character of the inelastic scattering.

Synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy study on the valence state in α- and β-YbAlB4 at low temperatures and high magnetic fields

The valence state of Yb ions in β-YbAlB4 and its polymorph α-YbAlB4 has been investigated by using X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy in SPring-8 at temperatures from 2 to 280 K. The observed Yb valence is 2.78 ± 0.01 in β-YbAlB4 at 2 K by using the X-ray emission spectroscopy. The valence is found to gradually increase with increasing temperature toward the trivalent state, and the characteristic temperature of the valence fluctuation is expected to be about 290 K. We also found a small increase in the Yb valence (∼ 0.002) by applying a magnetic field of 32 T at 40 K to β-YbAlB4.

Conduction electron spin resonance in AlB2

This work reports on electron spin resonance experiments in oriented single crystals of the hexagonal AlB2 diboride compound (P6/mmm, D16h structure) which display conduction electron spin resonance. The X-band electron spin resonance spectra showed a metallic Dysonian resonance with g-value and intensity independent of temperature. The thermal broadening of the anisotropic electron spin resonance linewidth ΔH tracks the T-dependence of the electrical resistivity below T is approximately equal to 100 K. These results confirm the observation of a conduction electron spin resonance in AlB2 and are discussed in comparison with other boride compounds. Based on our main findings for AlB2 and the calculated electronic structure of similar layered honeycomb-like structures, we conclude that any array of covalent B-B layers potentially results in a conduction electron spin resonance signal. This observation may shed new light on the nature of the non-trivial conduction electron spin resonance-like signals of complex f-electron systems such as β-YbAlB4.