Evidence for the role of fluxoids in enhancing NMR spin-lattice relaxation and implications for intrinsic pinning of the flux lattice in organic superconductors

Zeeman-driven phase transition within the superconducting state of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2

(13)C nuclear magnetic resonance measurements were performed on κ-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu(NCS)(2), with the external field placed parallel to the quasi-2D conducting layers. The absorption spectrum is used to determine the electronic spin polarization M(s) as a function of external field H at a temperature T=0.35 K. A discontinuity in the derivative dM(s)/dH at an applied field of H(s)=213±3 kOe is taken as evidence for a Zeeman-driven transition within the superconducting state and stabilization of inhomogeneous superconductivity.

Spin dynamics in iron-based layered superconductor (La0.87Ca0.13)FePO revealed by 31P and 139La NMR studies

We report 31P and 139La NMR studies of (La0.87Ca0.13)FePO, which is a family member of the recently discovered superconductor LaFeAs(O1-xFx). In the normal state, Knight shift and nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by T (1/T1T) show that a Fermi-liquid state with moderate ferromagnetic fluctuations emerges below 30 K. From 1/T1T of 31P and 139La, a quasi-two- dimensional electronic structure is suggested, in which the FeP layer is more conductive than the LaO layer. In the superconducting (SC) state, although a clear Meissner signal was observed, 1/T1T increases below Tc, in contrast to a decrease of 1/T1T due to the opening of a SC gap, suggesting that novel low-energy spin dynamics develop in the SC state.

75As NMR studies of superconducting LaFeAsO0.9F0.1

We have performed 75As nuclear magnetic resonance measurements on aligned powders of the new LaFeAsO0.9F0.1 superconductor. In the normal state, we find a strong temperature dependence of the spin shift and Korringa behavior of the spin lattice relaxation rate. In the superconducting state, we find evidence for line nodes in the superconducting gap and spin-singlet pairing. Our measurements reveal a strong anisotropy of the spin lattice relaxation rate, which suggests that superconducting vortices contribute to the relaxation rate when the field is parallel to the c axis but not for the perpendicular direction.

Mott transition from a spin liquid to a Fermi liquid in the spin-frustrated organic conductor kappa-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3

The pressure-temperature phase diagram of the organic Mott insulator kappa-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3, a model system of the spin liquid on triangular lattice, has been investigated by 1H NMR and resistivity measurements. The spin-liquid phase is persistent before the Mott transition to the metal or superconducting phase under pressure. At the Mott transition, the spin fluctuations are rapidly suppressed and the Fermi-liquid features are observed in the temperature dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate and resistivity. The characteristic curvature of the Mott boundary in the phase diagram highlights a crucial effect of the spin frustration on the Mott transition.

(13)C NMR investigation of the superconductor MgCNi(3) up to 800 K

We report (13)C NMR characterization of the new superconductor MgCNi(3) [T. He et al., Nature (London) 411, 54 (2001)]. We found that both the uniform spin susceptibility and the spin fluctuations show a strong enhancement with decreasing temperature, and saturate below approximately 50 K and approximately 20 K, respectively. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/(13)T(1) exhibits typical behavior for isotropic s-wave superconductivity with a coherence peak below T(c) = 7.0 K that grows with decreasing magnetic field.