Magnetoquantum oscillations in the specific heat of a topological Kondo insulator.

Surprisingly, magnetoquantum oscillations (MQOs) characteristic of a metal with a Fermi surface have been observed in measurements of the topological Kondo insulator SmB6. As these MQO have only been observed in measurements of magnetic torque (dHvA) and not in measurements of magnetoresistance (SdH), a debate has arisen as to whether the MQO are an extrinsic effect arising from rare-earth impurities, defects, and/or aluminum inclusions or an intrinsic effect revealing the existence of charge-neutral excitations. We report here the first observation of MQO in the low-temperature specific heat of SmB6. The observed frequencies and their angular dependence for these flux-grown samples are consistent with previous results based on magnetic torque for SmB6but the inferred effective masses are significantly larger than previously reported. Such oscillations can only be observed if the MQO are of bulk thermodynamic origin; the measured magnetic-field dependent oscillation amplitude and effective mass allow us to rule out suggestions of an extrinsic, aluminum inclusion-based origin for the MQO.

Comparison of temperature and doping dependence of elastoresistivity near a putative nematic quantum critical point.

Strong electronic nematic fluctuations have been discovered near optimal doping for several families of Fe-based superconductors, motivating the search for a possible link between these fluctuations, nematic quantum criticality, and high temperature superconductivity. Here we probe a key prediction of quantum criticality, namely power-law dependence of the associated nematic susceptibility as a function of composition and temperature approaching the compositionally tuned putative quantum critical point. To probe the 'bare' quantum critical point requires suppression of the superconducting state, which we achieve by using large magnetic fields, up to 45 T, while performing elastoresistivity measurements to follow the nematic susceptibility. We performed these measurements for the prototypical electron-doped pnictide, Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2, over a dense comb of dopings. We find that close to the putative quantum critical point, the elastoresistivity appears to obey power-law behavior as a function of composition over almost a decade of variation in composition. Paradoxically, however, we also find that the temperature dependence for compositions close to the critical value cannot be described by a single power law.

Cascade of magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transitions in a spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet.

We report magnetocaloric and magnetic-torque evidence that in Cs2CuBr4--a geometrically frustrated Heisenberg S=1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet--quantum fluctuations stabilize a series of spin states at simple increasing fractions of the saturation magnetization Ms. Only the first of these states--at M=1/3Ms--has been theoretically predicted. We discuss how the higher fraction quantum states might arise and propose model spin arrangements. We argue that the first-order nature of the transitions into those states is due to strong lowering of the energies by quantum fluctuations, with implications for the general character of quantum phase transitions in geometrically frustrated systems.

Six closely related YbT2Zn20 (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir) heavy fermion compounds with large local moment degeneracy.

Heavy fermion compounds represent one of the most strongly correlated forms of electronic matter and give rise to low temperature states that range from small moment ordering to exotic superconductivity, both of which are often in close proximity to quantum critical points. These strong electronic correlations are associated with the transfer of entropy from the local moment degrees of freedom to the conduction electrons, and, as such, are intimately related to the low temperature degeneracy of the (originally) moment bearing ion. Here we report the discovery of six closely related Yb-based heavy fermion compounds, YbT(2)Zn(20), that are members of the larger family of dilute rare earth bearing compounds: RT(2)Zn(20) (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir). This discovery doubles the total number of Yb-based heavy fermion materials. Given these compounds' dilute nature, systematic changes in T only weakly perturb the Yb site and allow for insight into the effects of degeneracy on the thermodynamic and transport properties of these model correlated electron systems.

Systematic effects of carbon doping on the superconducting properties of Mg(B1-xCx)(2).

The upper critical field, H(c2), of Mg(B1-xCx)(2) has been measured in order to probe the maximum magnetic field range for superconductivity that can be attained by C doping. Carbon doped MgB2 filaments were prepared, and for carbon levels below 4% the transition temperatures are depressed by about 1 K/% C and H(c2)(T=0) rises by about 5 T/% C. This means that 3.8% C substitution will depress T(c) from 39.2 to 36.2 K and raise H(c2)(T=0) from 16.0 to 32.5 T. These rises in H(c2) are accompanied by a rise in resistivity at 40 K from about 0.5 to about 10 microOmega cm.

Magnetic enhancement of superconductivity from electron spin domains.

Since the discovery of superconductivity, there has been a drive to understand the mechanisms by which it occurs. The BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer) model successfully treats the electrons in conventional superconductors as pairs coupled by phonons (vibrational modes of oscillation) moving through the material, but there is as yet no accepted model for high-transition-temperature, organic or 'heavy fermion' superconductivity. Experiments that reveal unusual properties of those superconductors could therefore point the way to a deeper understanding of the underlying physics. In particular, the response of a material to a magnetic field can be revealing, because this usually reduces or quenches superconductivity. Here we report measurements of the heat capacity and magnetization that show that, for particular orientations of an external magnetic field, superconductivity in the heavy-fermion material CeCoIn(5) is enhanced through the magnetic moments (spins) of individual electrons. This enhancement occurs by fundamentally altering how the superconducting state forms, resulting in regions of superconductivity alternating with walls of spin-polarized unpaired electrons; this configuration lowers the free energy and allows superconductivity to remain stable. The large magnetic susceptibility of this material leads to an unusually strong coupling of the field to the electron spins, which dominates over the coupling to the electron orbits.