Unique interplay between superconducting and ferromagnetic orders in EuRbFe4As4

Abstract

Transport, magnetic and optical investigations on EuRbFe 4 As 4 single crystals evidence that the ferromagnetic ordering of the Eu 2+ magnetic moments at T N = 15 K, below the superconducting transition (Tc = 36 K), affects superconductivity in a weak but intriguing way. Upon cooling below T N , the zero resistance state is preserved and the superconductivity is affected by the in-plane ferromagnetism mainly at domain boundaries; a perfect diamagnetism is recovered at low temperatures. The infrared conductivity is strongly suppressed in the far-infrared region below Tc, associated with the opening of a complete superconducting gap at 2∆ = 10 meV. A gap smaller than the weak coupling limit suggests the strong orbital effects or, within a multiband superconductivity scenario, the existence of a larger yet unrevealed gap.New members of the iron-pnictide family, the so-called 1144-compounds, attract interest recently because the alternating layers of alkaline A and alkaline-earth B cations produce two different kinds of As sites [1][2][3][4]. These materials can be viewed as the intergrowth of A-122 and B-122 iron-pnictides and they are naturally hole doped. The parent compounds are superconducting with transition temperatures T c around 35 K, higher than most of the 122materials; no spin-density-wave order has been observed. Among all possible candidates, Eu-based 1144-systems are even more intriguing, since the Eu-sublattice orders ferromagnetically below a critical temperature T N ≈ 15 K [5,6], similar to the 122-counterpart EuFe 2 As 2 [7-11]. Ferromagnetic order deep inside the superconducting state is very rare, in general [12,13]; hence the "ferromagnetic superconductor" EuRbFe 4 As 4 might pave the way towards realization of a "superconducting ferromagnet" [14-16]. However, the exact nature of the Eu magnetic order and its effect on superconductivity is unresolved [5, 6] because single crystals have been synthesized only recently.In this Letter we focus on the interplay between superconductivity and ferromagnetism in EuRbFe 4 As 4 single crystals. We report comprehensive investigations comprising transport, magnetic and optical measurements combined with microscopic studies of the vortex dynamics. The infrared spectra show a clear gap opening around 80 cm −1 below T c = 36 K that is slightly reduced compared to the value expected from the BCS theory. We relate this small value to the multiband character of superconductivity as well as to the depairing (orbital) effects of super-currents screening the ferromagnetic domains. A surprisingly weak effect on the superconducting condensate has been observed upon magnetic ordering indicating a rather weak interaction between Eu-and Fe-sublattices.Single crystals of EuRbFe 4 As 4 are obtained according to Ref. [4,5,17,18]; they exhibit shiny ab-faces of approximately 1 mm in size. The structure of the compound is presented in Fig. 1(a). The crystals are characterized by x-ray, electrical transport, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. In Fig. 1(a) we plot the dc ...

Growth, properties and magnetism of CaKFe4As4

“…The latter value corresponds to the gap of the hole fermi-surface with largest radius in ARPES [148] (Section 8.3). When magnetic EuRbFe 4 As 4 10.0(6) 4 Optical Conductivity [175] field is applied, superconducting vortices appear as regions with increased conductivity in the superconducting gap (right panels of Fig. 8.4).…”

Vortex dynamic, pinning and irreversibility field investigation in EuRbFe4As4 superconductor

“…Therefore, EuRbF e 4 As 4 is found to be a ferromagnetic superconductor with Eu domains within the ab plane ordering according to the ref. [13,14]. However, such features can be observed only in the magnetic measurements data indicates spatial separation and coexistence of magnetic and superconducting regions [8].…”

New Dimension in Magnetism and Superconductivity: 3D and Curvilinear Nanoarchitectures

“…The further development of the field of curvilinear antiferromagnetism should involve both theory and experiment to address the impact of geometry on responses of curved antiferromagnets. In addition, in a number of materials antiferromagnetism coexists with superconductivity so that both, ferromagnetic [508][509][510][511][512][513][514][515] and antiferromagnetic [516][517][518][519][520][521][522][523] materials can host curvature effects on magnetism and superconductivity (see also Section 5) at the same time.…”