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{Multiband Superconductivity in Lu$_3$Os$_4$Ge$_{13}$

Superconductivity 2015-11-23 v4 Materials Science Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract

Intermetallic R3_3T4_4X13_{13} series consists of cage like structure and have been in focus due to their unconventional electronic ground states. In this work, we report the normal and superconducting state properties of a high quality single crystal of Lu3_3Os4_4Ge13_{13}. Lu3_3Os4_4Ge13_{13} belongs to the above mentioned series and crystallizes in a cubic crystal structure with the space group Pm3ˉn\it{Pm\bar{3}n}. Using electrical transport, magnetization and heat capacity measurements, we show that Lu3_3Os4_4Ge13_{13} is a type-II multi-band superconductor (Tc=3.1T{_c} =3.1~K) with unusual superconducting properties. The analysis of the low temperature heat capacity data suggests that Lu3_3Os4_4Ge13_{13} is a moderately coupled multi-band BCS superconductor with two gaps (2Δ/kBTc=3.68±0.04 & 0.34±0.022\Delta / {k{_B}T{_c}} = 3.68 \pm {0.04} ~\& ~0.34 \pm {0.02}) in the superconducting state. The dc-magnetization (MHM-H) shows a large reversible region in the superconducting state similar to the vortex liquid phase observed in high-TcT{_c} superconductors. The value of the Ginzburg number GiG_{i} suggests that the thermal fluctuations, though small as compared to those in high-TcT{_c} cuprates, may play an important role in the unpinning of the vortices in this compound. The electronic band structure calculations show that three bands cross the Fermi level and constitute a complex Fermi surface in Lu3_3Os4_4Ge13_{13}

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1409.4200,
  title  = {{Multiband Superconductivity in Lu$_3$Os$_4$Ge$_{13}$},
  author = {Om Prakash and A. Thamizhavel and S. Ramakrishnan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.4200},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

12 pages, 6 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-22T05:56:40.469Z