Excess conductivity and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in superconducting FeSe thin films.

Temperature-dependent electronic transport in the vicinity of the superconducting transition is reported for quasi-two-dimensional textured FeSe thin films. The conspicuous rounding of the resistive transitions and large transition widths are indications of excess conductivity due to thermal Cooper-pair fluctuations, which can be well-described by the two-dimensional Aslamazov-Larkin theory. The Halperin-Nelson form of the sheet resistance between the phase-ordering temperature TBKT and the mean-field temperature TMF, and the power-law behaviour of the voltage-current characteristics, with a distinctive jump of the exponent at TBKT, are indicative of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The complementary results suggest a two-dimensional character of superconductivity in the FeSe films and allow a quantitative estimate of the Ginzburg number Gi.

Double exchange via t(2g) orbitals and the Jahn-Teller effect in ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3CoO3 probed by epitaxial strain.

The magnetic exchange in hole-doped ferromagnetic cobaltates is investigated by studying the magnetic and electronic properties of La0.7Sr0.3CoO3 films as a function of epitaxial strain. We found a strong-coupling double exchange mechanism between Co3+ (4t(2g)   2e(g)) and Co4+ (3t(2g)   2e(g)) high-spin states mediated by t(2g) electrons--in contrast to the moderate coupling provided by the e(g) exchange in manganites. The strong sensitivity of the Curie temperature TC to the bulk compression can be explained by the small bandwidth of the t(2g)-derived states. A strain-induced Jahn-Teller effect is likewise observed. The experimental results clarify the magnetic exchange mechanism in the cobaltates.

Magnetic blue phase in the chiral itinerant magnet MnSi.

Chiral nematic liquid crystals sometimes form blue phases characterized by spirals twisting in different directions. By combining model calculations with neutron-scattering experiments, we show that the magnetic analogue of blue phases does form in the chiral itinerant magnet MnSi in a large part of the phase diagram. The properties of this blue phase explain a number of previously reported puzzling features of MnSi such as partial magnetic order and a two-component specific-heat and thermal-expansion anomaly at the magnetic transition.

Magnetic-field-induced band-structure change in CeBiPt.

We report on a field-induced change of the electronic band structure of CeBiPt as evidenced by electrical-transport measurements in pulsed magnetic fields. Above approximately 25 T, the charge-carrier concentration increases nearly 30% with a concomitant disappearance of the Shubnikov-de Haas signal. These features are intimately related to the Ce 4f electrons since for the non-4f compound LaBiPt the Fermi surface remains unaffected. Electronic band-structure calculations point to a 4f-polarization-induced change of the Fermi-surface topology.