Contributor info: Prof. Ruslan Prozorov

Sunil Ghimire, Kyuil Cho, Kamal R. Joshi, Makariy A. Tanatar, Zhixiang Hu, Cedomir Petrovic, Ruslan Prozorov

SciPost Phys. 17, 117 (2024) · published 21 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

London and Campbell penetration depths were measured in single crystals of the endohedral gallide cluster superconductor, Mo$_8$Ga$_41$. The full temperature range superfluid density, $\rho_s(T)$, is consistent with the clean isotropic $s-$wave weak-coupling BCS theory without any signs of the second gap or strong coupling. The temperature dependence of the Campbell length is hysteretic between zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field-cooling (FC) protocols, indicating an anharmonic vortex pinning potential. The field dependence of the effective critical current density, $j_{c}(H)$, reveals an unusual result. While in the ZFC protocol, $j_{c}(H)$ is monotonically suppressed by the magnetic field, it exhibits a profound "hidden" peak effect in the FC protocol, that is, without a vortex density gradient. We suggest a possible novel mechanism for such a peak effect, which involves both static and dynamic aspects of vortex pinning.

Sunil Ghimire, Kamal R. Joshi, Elizabeth H. Krenkel, Makariy A. Tanatar, Marcin Kończykowski, Romain Grasset, Paul C. Canfield, Ruslan Prozorov

SciPost Phys. 17, 116 (2024) · published 21 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

London, $\lambda_L (T)$, and Campbell, $\lambda_{C} (T)$, penetration depths were measured in single crystals of a topological superconductor candidate AuSn$_4$. At low temperatures, $\lambda_L (T)$ is exponentially attenuated and, if fitted with the power law, $\lambda(T) \sim T^n$, gives exponents $n>4$, indistinguishable from the isotropic single $s-$wave gap Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) asymptotic. The superfluid density fits perfectly in the entire temperature range to the BCS theory. The superconducting transition temperature, $T_c = 2.40 ± 0.05$ K, does not change after 2.5 MeV electron irradiation, indicating the validity of the Anderson theorem for isotropic $s-$wave superconductors. Campbell penetration depth before and after electron irradiation shows no hysteresis between the zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) protocols, consistent with the parabolic pinning potential. Interestingly, the critical current density estimated from the original Campbell theory decreases after irradiation, implying that a more sophisticated theory involving collective effects is needed to describe vortex pinning in this system. In general, our thermodynamic measurements strongly suggest that the bulk response of the AuSn$_4$ crystals is fully consistent with the isotropic $s-$wave weak-coupling BCS superconductivity.