Heavy fermion quantum criticality at dilute carrier limit in CeNi2-δ(As1-xPx)2.

We study the quantum phase transitions in the nickel pnctides, CeNi2-δ(As1-xPx)2 (δ ≈ 0.07-0.22) polycrystalline samples. This series displays the distinct heavy fermion behavior in the rarely studied parameter regime of dilute carrier limit. We systematically investigate the magnetization, specific heat and electrical transport down to low temperatures. Upon increasing the P-content, the antiferromagnetic order of the Ce-4f moment is suppressed continuously and vanishes at xc ~ 0.55. At this doping, the temperature dependences of the specific heat and longitudinal resistivity display non-Fermi liquid behavior. Both the residual resistivity ρ0 and the Sommerfeld coefficient γ0 are sharply peaked around xc. When the P-content reaches close to 100%, we observe a clear low-temperature crossover into the Fermi liquid regime. In contrast to what happens in the parent compound x = 0.0 as a function of pressure, we find a surprising result that the non-Fermi liquid behavior persists over a nonzero range of doping concentration, xc < x < 0.9. In this doping range, at the lowest measured temperatures, the temperature dependence of the specific-heat coefficient is logarithmically divergent and that of the electrical resistivity is linear. We discuss the properties of CeNi2-δ(As1-xPx)2 in comparison with those of its 1111 counterpart, CeNi(As1-xPx)O. Our results indicate a non-Fermi liquid phase in the global phase diagram of heavy fermion metals.

Normal-state properties of the quasi-one-dimensional superconductor Ta4Pd3Te16.

We examined the physical properties of the quasi-one-dimensional superconductor Ta4Pd3Te16 in the normal state by detailed measurements of susceptibility, in-plane anisotropic resistivity, magnetoresistance, Hall resistivity, and Seebeck coefficient. The large Wilson ratio, as inferred from normal-state susceptibility, indicates strong electron-electron interaction. The Hall and Seebeck coefficients show not only significant temperature-dependent behavior, indicating the multiband effect, but also an obvious anomaly around T 1 = 40 K. Analyses of both the Hall resistivity and thermopower using a two-band model indicate that the electrons dominate the electrical transport at low temperatures. Our results imply that it is the quantum fluctuations of the charge order taking place in the temperature range 30-50 K that may result in the abnormal normal-state properties of Ta4Pd3Te16.

Peculiar phase diagram with isolated superconducting regions in ThFeAsN1-x O x.

ThFeAsN1-x O x ([Formula: see text]) system with heavy electron doping has been studied by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The non-doped compound exhibits superconductivity at [Formula: see text] K, which is possibly due to an internal uniaxial chemical pressure that is manifested by the extremely small value of As height with respect to the Fe plane. With the oxygen substitution, the T c value decreases rapidly to below 2 K for [Formula: see text], and surprisingly, superconductivity re-appears in the range of [Formula: see text] with a maximum [Formula: see text] of 17.5 K at x = 0.3. For the normal-state resistivity, while the samples in intermediate non-superconducting interval exhibit Fermi liquid behavior, those in other regions show a non-Fermi-liquid behavior. The specific heat jump for the superconducting sample of x = 0.4 is [Formula: see text], which is discussed in terms of anisotropic superconducting gap. The peculiar phase diagram in ThFeAsN1-x O x presents additional ingredients for understanding the superconducting mechanism in iron-based superconductors.

Unique [Mn6Bi5]- Nanowires in KMn6Bi5: A Quasi-One-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Metal.

We report a new quasi-one-dimensional compound KMn6Bi5 composed of parallel nanowires crystallizing in a monoclinic space group C2/ m with a = 22.994(2) Å, b = 4.6128(3) Å, c = 13.3830(13) Å and ß = 124.578(6)°. The nanowires are infinite [Mn6Bi5]- columns each of which is composed of a nanotube of Bi atoms acting as the cladding with a nanorod of Mn atoms located in the central axis of the nanotubes. The nanorods of Mn atoms inside the Bi cladding are stabilized by Mn-Mn bonding and are defined by distorted Mn-centered cluster icosahedra of Mn13 sharing their vertices along the b axis. The [Mn6Bi5]- nanowires are linked with weak internanowire Bi-Bi bonds and charge balanced with K+ ions. The [Mn6Bi5]- nanowires were directly imaged by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic susceptibility studies show one-dimensional characteristics with an antiferromagnetic transition at ∼75 K and a small average effective magnetic moment (1.56 µB/Mn for H ∥ b and 1.37 µB/Mn for H ⊥ b) of Mn from Curie-Weiss fits above 150 K. Specific heat measurements reveal an electronic specific heat coefficient γ of 6.5(2) mJ K-2(mol-Mn)-1 and a small magnetic entropy change Δ Smag ≈ 1.6 J K-1 (mol-Mn)-1 across the antiferromagnetic transition. In contrast to a metallic resistivity along the column, the resistivity perpendicular to the column shows a change from a semiconducting behavior at high temperatures to a metallic one at low temperatures, indicating an incoherent-to-coherent crossover of the intercolumn tunneling of electrons.

Superconductivity at 35 K by self doping in RbGd2Fe4As4O2.

We report synthesis, crystal structure and physical properties of a novel quinary compound RbGd2Fe4As4O2. The new iron oxyarsenide is isostructural to the fluo-arsenide KCa2Fe4As4F2, both of which contain separate double Fe2As2 layers that are self hole-doped in the stoichiometric composition. Bulk superconductivity at [Formula: see text] K is demonstrated by the measurements of electrical resistivity, dc magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity. An exceptionally high value of the initial slope of the upper critical field ([Formula: see text]d[Formula: see text]/d[Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] T K-1) is measured for the polycrystalline sample.

Antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound CePt3P.

A new ternary platinum phosphide CePt3P was synthesized and characterized by means of magnetic, thermodynamic and transport measurements. The compound crystallizes in an antiperovskite tetragonal structure similar to that in the canonical family of platinum-based superconductors APt3P (A = Sr, Ca, La) and closely related to the noncentrosymmetric heavy fermion superconductor CePt3Si. In contrast to all the superconducting counterparts, however, no superconductivity is observed in CePt3P down to 0.5 K. Instead, CePt3P displays a coexistence of antiferromagnetic ordering, Kondo effect and crystalline electric field effect. A field-induced spin-flop transition is observed below the magnetic ordering temperature TN1 of 3.0 K while the Kondo temperature is of similar magnitude as TN1. The obtained Sommerfeld coefficient of electronic specific heat is γCe = 86 mJ/mol·K2 indicating that CePt3P is a moderately correlated antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound.

Superconductivity in KCa2Fe4As4F2 with Separate Double Fe2As2 Layers.

We report the synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of a quinary iron arsenide fluoride, KCa2Fe4As4F2. The new compound crystallizes in a body-centered tetragonal lattice (space group I4/mmm, a = 3.8684(2) Å, c = 31.007(1) Å, Z = 2) that contains double Fe2As2 conducting layers separated by insulating Ca2F2 layers. Our measurements of electrical resistivity, direct-current magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity demonstrate bulk superconductivity at 33 K in KCa2Fe4As4F2.

Coexistence of superconductivity and complex 4 f magnetism in Eu0.5Ce0.5BiS2F.

EuBiS2F is a self-doped superconductor due to the mixed valence of Eu. Here we report that, with the Ce substitution for Eu by 50 at.%, the material exhibits ferromagnetic ordering at 8 K for the Ce-4 f moment, superconductivity at 2.2 K in the BiS2 layers and possibly antiferromagnetic ordering at 2.1 K for the Eu-4 f spins. The Eu valence is essentially divalent with the Ce incorporation. We tentatively interpret the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity by considering different Bi-6p orbitals that are responsible for the superconductivity itself and for mediating the ferromagnetic interaction, respectively. We argue that the antiferromagnetic ordering of the Eu-4 f spins is most likely due to a magnetic dipole-dipole interaction.

Multiband superconductivity in Ta4Pd3Te16 with anisotropic gap structure.

We carried out measurements of the magnetoresistance, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat on crystals of the low-dimensional transition metal telluride Ta4Pd3Te16. Our results indicate that Ta4Pd3Te16 is an anisotropic type-II superconductor in the clean limit with the extracted Ginzburg-Landau parameter KGL = 84. The upper critical field Hc2(T) shows an anomalous temperature dependence at low temperatures and the anisotropy of Hc2(T) is strongly T-dependent, both of which indicate a multiband scenario. The electronic specific heat Cel(T) can be consistently described by a two-gap (s + d waves) model from the base temperature T/Tc ~ 0.12 up to Tc. Our results suggest nodal and multiband superconductivity in Ta4Pd3Te16.

Design and synthesis of a new layered thermoelectric material LaPbBiS3O.

A new quinary oxysulfide LaPbBiS3O was designed and successfully synthesized via a solid-state reaction in a sealed evacuated quartz tube. This material, composed of stacked NaCl-like [M4S6] (where M = Pb, Bi) layers and fluorite-type [La2O2] layers, crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P4/nmm with a = 4.0982(1) Å, c = 19.7754(6) Å, and Z = 2. Electrical resistivity and Hall effect measurements demonstrate that it is a narrow gap semiconductor with an activation energy of ∼17 meV. The thermopower and the figure of merit at room temperature were measured to be -52 µV/K and 0.23, respectively, which makes LaPbBiS3O and its derivatives be promising for thermoelectric applications.

Heavy-fermion quantum criticality and destruction of the Kondo effect in a nickel oxypnictide.

A quantum critical point arises at a continuous transformation between distinct phases of matter at zero temperature. Studies in antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion materials have revealed that quantum criticality has several classes, with an unconventional type that involves a critical destruction of the Kondo entanglement. To understand such varieties, it is important to extend the materials basis beyond the usual setting of intermetallic compounds. Here we show that a nickel oxypnictide, CeNiAsO, exhibits a heavy-fermion antiferromagnetic quantum critical point as a function of either pressure or P/As substitution. At the quantum critical point, non-Fermi-liquid behaviour appears, which is accompanied by a divergent effective carrier mass. Across the quantum critical point, the low-temperature Hall coefficient undergoes a rapid sign change, suggesting a sudden jump of the Fermi surface and a destruction of the Kondo effect. Our results imply that the enormous materials basis for the oxypnictides, which has been so crucial in the search for high-temperature superconductivity, will also play a vital role in the effort to establish the universality classes of quantum criticality in strongly correlated electron systems.

Superconductivity in a layered Ta4Pd3Te16 with PdTe2 chains.

Superconductivity in low-dimensional compounds has long attracted much interest. Here we report superconductivity in a low-dimensional ternary telluride Ta4Pd3Te16 in which the repeating layers contain edge-sharing octahedrally coordinated PdTe2 chains along the crystallographic b axis. Measurements of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat on the Ta4Pd3Te16 crystals, grown via a self-flux method, consistently demonstrate bulk superconductivity at 4.6 K. Further analyses of the data indicate significant electron-electron interaction, which allows electronic Cooper pairing in the present system.

Variable range hopping conductivity and spin glass behavior in spin-ladder Ba0.6K0.4Fe2Se3 single crystals.

Ba0.6K0.4Fe2Se3 (BKFS) single crystals were investigated by means of measurements of powder x-ray diffraction, temperature-dependent resistivity, anisotropic dc magnetization, ac magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The powder x-ray diffraction indicates staggered iron displacements along the ladders with short and long Fe-Fe bond lengths (2.64(2) and 2.91(2) Å) variation. The resistivity of BKFS exhibits variable range hopping behavior with ln(ρ) ~ T(-1/2) at low temperature. The magnetic susceptibility χ(T) exhibits a sharp cusp at around 20 K in a zero-field-cooled process. The frequency-dependent ac magnetic susceptibility reveals that the cusp feature is attributable to spin glass behavior. The anisotropic ac magnetic susceptibility indicates that BKFS is probably an anisotropic Heisenberg-like spin glass with its easy magnetization plane perpendicular to the chain direction. The specific heat also supports an insulating and spin glass ground state. Extended Curie-Weiss behavior above 40 K was observed with a reduced effective moment (µ(eff) = 1.66 µ(B)/Fe for H is perpendicular to b and µ(eff) = 1.82 µB/Fe for H is parallel to b) in BKFS, which is close to the spin-only magnetism with S=1/2.

On the origin of the two thermally driven relaxations in diluted spin ice Dy(1.6)Y(0.4)Ti2O7.

We report quantitative analysis of the ac susceptibility of the diluted spin ice compound Dy(1.6)Y(0.4)Ti(2)O(7), by fitting the frequency spectra of the two observed relaxation modes with a double Cole-Cole formula. Our results suggest that both modes are thermally activated, with the same intrinsic frequency, but different activation barriers. We propose that these thermally activated relaxation modes can be attributed to correlated spin clusters.

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism in EuFe2(As(1-x)P(x))2.

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism are two antagonistic cooperative phenomena, which makes it difficult for them to coexist. Here we demonstrate experimentally that they do coexist in EuFe2(As(1-x)P(x))2 with 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.4, in which superconductivity is associated with Fe 3d electrons and ferromagnetism comes from the long-range ordering of Eu 4f moments via Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions. The coexistence features large saturated ferromagnetic moments, high and comparable superconducting and magnetic transition temperatures, and broad coexistence ranges in temperature and field. We ascribe this unusual phenomenon to the robustness of superconductivity as well as the multi-orbital character of iron pnictides.

Anisotropic paramagnetism of monoclinic Nd2Ti2O7 single crystals.

The anisotropic paramagnetism and specific heat in Nd(2)Ti(2)O(7) single crystals are investigated. The angular dependence of the magnetization and Weiss temperatures show the dominant role of the crystal field effect in the magnetization. By incorporating the results from the diluted samples, contributions to the Weiss temperature from exchange interactions and crystal field interactions are isolated. The exchange interactions are found to be ferromagnetic, while the crystal field contributes a large negative part to the Weiss temperature, along all three crystallographic directions. The specific heat under a magnetic field reveals a two-level Schottky ground state scheme, due to the Zeeman splitting of the ground state doublet, and the g-factors are thus determined. These observations provide solid foundations for further investigations of Nd(2)Ti(2)O(7).

CeNiAsO: an antiferromagnetic dense Kondo lattice.

A cerium-containing pnictide, CeNiAsO, crystallized in the ZrCuSiAs-type structure, has been investigated by measuring transport and magnetic properties, as well as specific heat. We found that CeNiAsO is an antiferromagnetic dense Kondo lattice metallic compound with Kondo scale T(K) ∼15 K and shows an enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient of γ(0) ∼203 mJ mol K(-2). While no superconductivity can be observed down to 30 mK, Ce ions exhibit two successive antiferromagnetic (AFM) transitions. We propose that the magnetic moment of the Ce ion could align in the G-type AFM order below the first transition at T(N1)=9.3 K, and it might be modified into the C-type AFM order below a lower transition at T(N2)=7.3 K. Our results indicate that the 3d-4f interlayer Kondo interactions play an important role in Ni-based Ce-containing pnictides.

La2Co2Se2O3: a quasi-two-dimensional mott insulator with unusual cobalt spin state and possible orbital ordering.

The new oxyselenide La(2)Co(2)Se(2)O(3), containing Co(2)O square-planar layers, has been successfully synthesized using solid-state reactions under vacuum. The compound crystallizes in space group I4/mmm with lattice parameters a = 4.0697(8) A and c = 18.419(4) A. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate an antiferromagnetic transition at approximately 220 K. The magnetic entropy associated with the transition is close to R ln 2, suggesting an unusual low-spin state for the Co(2+) ions. The as-prepared sample shows insulating behavior with room-temperature resistivity of approximately 10(7) ohms cm, which decreases by 4 orders of magnitude under a pressure of 7 GPa. Band structure calculations using the LSDA+U approach reproduce the insulating ground state with low spin for Co and suggest strong orbital polarization for the valence electrons near the Fermi level. It is also revealed that the spin and orbital degrees of freedom in the antiferromagnetic checkerboard spin-lattice are mutually coupled.

Superconductivity induced by phosphorus doping and its coexistence with ferromagnetism in EuFe2(As0.7P0.3)(2).

We have studied EuFe2(As0.7P0.3)(2) by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, thermopower, magnetic susceptibility, magnetoresistance, and specific heat. Partial substitution of As with P results in the shrinkage of lattice, which generates chemical pressure to the system. It is found that EuFe2(As0.7P0.3)(2) undergoes a superconducting transition at 26 K, followed by ferromagnetic ordering of Eu2+ moments at 20 K. This finding is the first observation of superconductivity stabilized by internal chemical pressure, and supplies a rare example showing the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the ferroarsenide family.

Superconductivity up to 30 K in the vicinity of the quantum critical point in BaFe(2)(As(1-x)P(x))(2).

We report bulk superconductivity induced by an isovalent doping of phosphorus in BaFe(2)(As(1-x)P(x))(2). The P-for-As substitution results in shrinkage of the lattice, especially for the FeAs block layers. The resistivity anomaly associated with the spin-density-wave (SDW) transition in the undoped compound is gradually suppressed by the P doping. Superconductivity with a maximum T(c) of 30 K emerges at x = 0.32, coinciding with a magnetic quantum critical point (QCP) which is shown by the disappearance of SDW order and the linear temperature-dependent resistivity in the normal state. The T(c) values were found to decrease with further P doping and no superconductivity was observed down to 2 K for x≥0.77. The appearance of superconductivity in the vicinity of QCP hints at the superconductivity mechanism in iron-based arsenides.