Superconductivity, electronic phase diagram, and pressure effect in Sr_(1-x)Pr_xFBiS_2

Based on a combination of X-ray diffraction, electrical transports, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and pressure-effect measurements, we report the results of experiments on a series of BiS_2-based Sr_(1-x)Pr_xFBiS_2 superconductors with the maximum Tcof 2.7 K for x=0.5 and at ambient pressure. Superconductivity appears only for 0.4≤x≤0.7 whereas the normal-state resistivity shows the semiconducting-like behaviors. The magnetic susceptibility χ(T) displays the low superconducting shielding volume fractions and C(T) shows no distinguishable anomaly near Tc, which suggests a filamentary superconductivity in the Pr-doped polycrystalline samples. By varying doping concentrations, an electronic phase diagram is established. Upon applying pressure on the optimally doped Sr_(0.5)Pr_(0.5)FBiS_2 system, Tcis abruptly enhanced, reaches 8.5 K at the critical pressure of P_c=1.5 GPa, and increases slightly to 9.7 K at 2.5 GPa. Accompanied by the enhancement of superconductivity from the low-to the high-Tc phases, the normal state undergoes a semiconductor-to-metal transition when under pressure. This scenario may be linked to enhanced overlap of the Bi-6 p and S-p orbitals, which contributes to the enhanced superconductivity above Pc. The pressuretemperature phase diagram for Sr_(0.5)Pr_(0.5)FBiS_2 is also presented.

Sign-reversed anomalous Nernst effect in the ferromagnetic Weyl-semimetal Fe_(3-δ)GeTe_(2): the role of Fe vacancies

Anomalous Nernst effect, as a thermal partner of anomalous Hall effect, is particularly sensitive to the Berry curvature anomaly near the Fermi level, and has been used to probe the topological nature of quantum materials. In this work, we report the observation of both effects in the ferromagnetic Weyl-semimetal Fe_(3-δ)GeTe_(2) with tunable Fe vacancies. With decreasing Fe vacancies,the anomalous Hall conductivity evolves as a function of the longitudinal conductivity from the hopping region to the region where the intrinsic Berry curvature contribution dominates. Concomitant evolutions in the anomalous Nernst signal and the anomalous off-diagonal thermoelectric coefficient are observed below the Curie temperature, displaying a unique sign change caused by the Fe vacancies. Combining these results with first-principles calculations, we argue that the Fe-vacancy concentration plays a unique role in simultaneously tuning the chemical potential and ferromagnetism, which in turn controls the Berry curvature contribution in this family of ferromagnetic topological semimetals.