Specific-heat analysis of rare-earth transition-metal borocarbides: An estimation of the electron-phonon coupling strength

Anisotropic multiband many-body interactions in LuNi2B2C

We present a comprehensive de Haas-van Alphen study on the nonmagnetic borocarbide superconductor LuNi2B2C. The analysis of the angular-dependent effective masses for different bands in combination with full-potential density functional calculations allowed us to determine the mass-enhancement factors, lambda, for the different electronic bands and their wave-vector dependences. Our data clearly show the anisotropic multiband character of the superconductivity in LuNi2B2C.

Thermal conductivity of the pyrochlore superconductor KOs2O6: strong electron correlations and fully gapped superconductivity

To elucidate the nature of the superconducting ground state of the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore KOs2O6 (Tc=9.6 K), the thermal conductivity was measured down to low temperatures (approximately Tc/100). We found that the quasiparticle mean free path is strikingly enhanced below a transition at Tp=7.8 K, indicating enormous electron inelastic scattering in the normal state. In magnetic fields, the conduction at T-->0 K is nearly constant up to approximately 0.4Hc2, in contrast with the rapid growth expected for superconductors with an anisotropic gap. This unambiguously indicates a fully gapped superconductivity, in contrast with previous studies. These results highlight that KOs2O6 is unique among superconductors with strong electron correlations.

Evidence of gap anisotropy in superconducting YNi2B2C using directional point-contact spectroscopy

We present a study of the anisotropy in the superconducting energy gap in a single crystal of YNi2B2C (T(c) approximately 14.6 K) using directional point-contact spectroscopy. The superconducting energy gap at 2.7 K, when measured for I||c, is 4.5 times larger than that for I||a. The energy gaps in the two directions also have different temperature dependences. Our results support a scenario with s + g like symmetry.

Evidence for nodal quasiparticles in the nonmagnetic superconductor YNi2B2C via field-angle-dependent heat capacity

Field-angle dependent heat capacity of the nonmagnetic borocarbide superconductor YNi2B2C reveals a clear fourfold oscillation, the first observation of its kind. The observed angular variations were analyzed as a function of magnetic field angle, field-intensity, and temperature to provide its origin. The quantitative agreement between experiment and theory strongly suggests that we are directly observing nodal quasiparticles generated along <100> by the Doppler effect. The results demonstrate that field-angle heat capacity can be a powerful tool in probing the momentum-space gap structure in unconventional superconductors such as high T(c) cuprates, heavy-fermion superconductors, etc.

Low energy quasiparticle excitation in the vortex state of borocarbide superconductor yni2b2c

We measured the heat capacity C(p) and microwave surface impedance Z(s) in the vortex state of YNi2B2C. In contrast to conventional s-wave superconductors, C(p) shows a square root[H] dependence. This square root[H] dependence persists even after the introduction of the columnar defects which change the electronic structure of the vortex core regime and destroy the regular vortex lattice. On the other hand, flux flow resistivity is nearly proportional to H. These results indicate that the vortex state of YNi2B2C is fundamentally different from the conventional s-wave counterparts, in that the delocalized quasiparticle states around the vortex core are important, similar to d-wave superconductors.