Universal Pairing Symmetry

Anonymous

Synopsis

Universal Pairing Symmetry

February 23, 2012• Physics 5, s27

Specific heat measurements reveal a universal symmetry for the superconducting gap in a family of heavy fermion materials.

Superconductivity in the $Ce M {In}_{5}$ family, where $M$ can be cobalt (Co), rhodium (Rh), or iridium (Ir), occurs in close proximity to a phase with antiferromagnetic order. In these materials, charge carriers have a large effective mass (hence the name “heavy fermion” superconductivity), which implies that conventional attraction via phonons cannot be responsible for the pairing that gives rise to superconductivity.

One hint to the pairing mechanism can come from studying the symmetry of the superconducting gap. ${CeCoIn}_{5}$ and ${CeRhIn}_{5}$ are widely accepted to have nodes in the superconducting gap ( $d_{x^{2} - y^{2}}$ symmetry), suggesting the pairing interaction is driven by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. But for the third member of the family, ${CeIrIn}_{5}$ , the superconducting gap symmetry has remained controversial because of discrepancies between different measurements.

In a Rapid Communication appearing in Physical Review B, Shunichiro Kittaka from the University of Tokyo, Japan, and collaborators report experiments that resolve this controversy and show that the gap in ${CeIrIn}_{5}$ also has $d_{x^{2} - y^{2}}$ symmetry. They measured the specific heat of a sample of ${CeIrIn}_{5}$ at multiple orientations with respect to an external magnetic field down to temperatures as low as $80$ millikelvin. Kittaka et al. find that the field-angle-resolved specific heat measurements show a fourfold angular oscillation that is consistent with theoretical calculations that assume ${CeIrIn}_{5}$ has a gap with $d_{x^{2} - y^{2}}$ symmetry. These results suggest a universal pairing mechanism for the $Ce M {In}_{5}$ family of heavy fermion superconductors, an important clue to developing a complete theoretical understanding. – Sarma Kancharla