English

Low-Temperature Thermal Conductivity of CeRh$_{2}$As$_{2}$

Superconductivity 2022-05-02 v1

Abstract

CeRh2_2As2_2 is a rare unconventional superconductor (Tc=0.26T_c=0.26 K) characterized by two adjacent superconducting phases for a magnetic field HcH \parallel c-axis of the tetragonal crystal structure. Antiferromagnetic order, quadrupole-density-wave order (T0=0.4T_0 = 0.4 K) and the proximity of this material to a quantum-critical point have also been reported: The coexistence of these phenomena with superconductivity is currently under discussion. Here, we present thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity measurements on a single crystal of CeRh2_2As2_2 between 60 mK and 200 K and in magnetic fields (HcH \parallel c) up to 8 T. Our measurements at low TT verify the Wiedemann-Franz law within the error bars. The TT dependence of the thermal conductivity κ(T)\kappa(T) shows a pronounced drop below TcT_c which is also field dependent and thus interpreted as the signature of superconductivity. However, the large residual resistivity and the lack of sharp anomalies in κ(T)\kappa(T) at the expected transition temperatures clearly indicate that samples of much higher purity are required to gain more information about the superconducting gap structure.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2202.12667,
  title  = {Low-Temperature Thermal Conductivity of CeRh$_{2}$As$_{2}$},
  author = {Seita Onishi and Ulrike Stockert and Seunghyun Khim and Jacintha Banda and Manuel Brando and Elena Hassinger},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.12667},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

11 pages, 3 figures