Repository logo
 

Anomalous critical fields in quantum critical superconductors.


Change log

Authors

Putzke, C 
Walmsley, P 
Fletcher, JD 
Malone, L 
Vignolles, D 

Abstract

Fluctuations around an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point (QCP) are believed to lead to unconventional superconductivity and in some cases to high-temperature superconductivity. However, the exact mechanism by which this occurs remains poorly understood. The iron-pnictide superconductor BaFe2(As(1-x)P(x))2 is perhaps the clearest example to date of a high-temperature quantum critical superconductor, and so it is a particularly suitable system to study how the quantum critical fluctuations affect the superconducting state. Here we show that the proximity of the QCP yields unexpected anomalies in the superconducting critical fields. We find that both the lower and upper critical fields do not follow the behaviour, predicted by conventional theory, resulting from the observed mass enhancement near the QCP. Our results imply that the energy of superconducting vortices is enhanced, possibly due to a microscopic mixing of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity, suggesting that a highly unusual vortex state is realized in quantum critical superconductors.

Description

Keywords

cond-mat.supr-con, cond-mat.supr-con, cond-mat.str-el

Journal Title

Nat Commun

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2041-1723
2041-1723

Volume Title

5

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/H017720/1)
We thank Igor Mazin and Georg Knebel for useful discussions, and A. M. Adamska for experimental help. This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant No. EP/H025855/1), EuroMagNET II under the EU Contract No. 228043, National Physical Laboratory Strategic Research Programme, and KAKENHI from JSPS.