R. H. Liu

A BCS-like gap in the superconductor SmFeAsO0.85F0.15

Since the discovery of superconductivity in the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) copper oxides two decades ago, it has been firmly established that the CuO2 plane is essential for superconductivity and gives rise to a host of other very unusual properties. A new family of superconductors with the general composition of LaFeAsO1-xFx has recently been discovered and the conspicuous lack of the CuO2 planes raises the tantalizing question of a different pairing mechanism in these oxypnictides. The superconducting gap (its magnitude, structure, and temperature dependence) is intimately related to pairing. Here we report the observation of a single gap in the superconductor SmFeAsO0.85F0.15 with Tc = 42 K as measured by Andreev spectroscopy. The gap value of 2Δ = 13.34 ± 0.3 meV gives 2Δ/kBTc = 3.68 (where kB is the Boltzmann constant), close to the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) prediction of 3.53. The gap decreases with temperature and vanishes at Tc in a manner consistent with the BCS prediction, but dramatically different from that of the pseudogap behaviour in the copper oxide superconductors. Our results clearly indicate a nodeless gap order parameter, which is nearly isotropic in size across different sections of the Fermi surface, and are not compatible with models involving antiferromagnetic fluctuations, strong correlations, the t-J model, and the like, originally designed for the high-Tc copper oxides.

Superconductivity at 5 K in alkali-metal-doped phenanthrene

Organic superconductors have π-molecular orbitals, from which electrons can become delocalized, giving rise to metallic conductivity due to orbital overlap between adjacent molecules. Here we report the discovery of superconductivity at a transition temperature (T(c)) of ~5 K in alkali-metal-doped phenanthrene. A 1-GPa pressure leads to a 20% increase of T(c), suggesting that alkali-metal-doped phenanthrene shows unconventional superconductivity. Raman spectra indicate that alkali-metal doping injects charge into the system to realize the superconductivity. The discovery of superconductivity in A(3)phenanthrene (where A can be either K or Rb) produces a novel broad class of superconductors consisting of fused hydrocarbon benzene rings with π-electron networks. An increase of T(c) with increasing number of benzene rings from three to five suggests that organic hydrocarbons with long chains of benzene rings are potential superconductors with high T(c).

A large iron isotope effect in SmFeAsO1-xFx and Ba1-xKxFe2As2

The recent discovery of superconductivity in oxypnictides with a critical transition temperature (TC) higher than the McMillan limit of 39 K (the theoretical maximum predicted by Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory) has generated great excitement. Theoretical calculations indicate that the electron–phonon interaction is not strong enough to give rise to such high transition temperatures, but strong ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic fluctuations have been proposed to be responsible. Superconductivity and magnetism in pnictide superconductors, however, show a strong sensitivity to the crystal lattice, suggesting the possibility of unconventional electron–phonon coupling. Here we report the effect of oxygen and iron isotope substitution on TC and the spin-density wave (SDW) transition temperature (TSDW) in the SmFeAsO1 - xFx and Ba1 - xKxFe2As2 systems. The oxygen isotope effect on TC and TSDW is very small, while the iron isotope exponent αC = -dlnTC/dlnM is about 0.35 (0.5 corresponds to the full isotope effect). Surprisingly, the iron isotope exchange shows the same effect on TSDW as TC. This indicates that electron–phonon interaction plays some role in the superconducting mechanism, but a simple electron–phonon coupling mechanism seems unlikely because a strong magnon–phonon coupling is included.

Crystal structure and phase transitions across the metal-superconductor boundary in the SmFeAsO 1 − x F x ( 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20 ) family

The fluorine-doped rare-earth iron oxyarsenides

Specific heat of the iron-based high- T c superconductor SmO 1 − x F x FeAs

{\text{REFeAsO}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{F}}_{x}

Doping Dependence of the Pressure Response of Tc in the SmO1-xFxFeAs Superconductors

(

Effect of pressure on the superconducting and spin-density-wave states of SmFeAsO 1 − x F x

\text{RE}=\text{rare}

Magnetic-field-induced log-T insulating behavior in the resistivity of fluorine-doped SmFeAsO1-xFx

earth) have recently emerged as a new family of high-temperature superconductors with transition temperatures

Abnormal T-linear susceptibility and Phase diagram of BaFe

({T}_{c})

_{2-x}

as high as 55 K. Here we use high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction to study the structural properties of