Normal and Superconducting Properties of La_(3)Ni_(2)O_(7)

This review provides a comprehensive overview of current research on the structural,electronic,and magnetic characteristics of the recently discovered high-temperature superconductor La_(3)Ni_(2)O_(7) under high pressures.We present the experimental results for synthesizing and characterizing this material,derived from measurements of transport,thermodynamics,and various spectroscopic techniques,and discuss their physical implications.We also explore theoretical models proposed to describe the electronic structures and superconducting pairing symmetry in La_(3)Ni_(2)O_(7),highlighting the intricate interplay between electronic correlations and magnetic interactions.Despite these advances,challenges remain in growing high-quality samples free of extrinsic phases and oxygen deficiencies and in developing reliable measurement tools for determining diamagnetism and other physical quantities under high pressures.Further investigations in these areas are essential to deepening our understanding of the physical properties of La_(3)Ni_(2)O_(7) and unlocking its superconducting pairing mechanism.

Superconductivity at 44.4 K achieved by intercalating EMIM^(+) into FeSe

Superconductivity with transition temperature Tc above 40 K was observed in protonated FeSe(Hy-FeSe)previously with the ionic liquid EMIM-BF4 used in the electrochemical process.However,the real superconducting phase is not clear until now.And detailed structural,magnetization,and electrical transport measurements are lacking.By using similar protonating technique on FeSe single crystals,we obtain superconducting samples with Tc above 40 K.We show that the obtained superconducting phase is not Hy-FeSe but actually an organic-ion(C6H11N+2 referred to as EMIM^(+))-intercalated phase(EMIM)xFeSe.By using x-ray diffraction technique,two sets of index peaks corresponding to different c-axis lattice constants are detected in the obtained samples,which belong to the newly formed phase of intercalated(EMIM)xFeSe and the residual FeSe,respectively.The superconductivity of(EMIM)xFeSe with Tc of 44.4 K is confirmed by resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements.Temperature dependence of resistivity with different applied magnetic fields reveals that the upper critical field Hc2 is quite high,while the irreversibility field Hirr is suppressed quickly with increasing temperature till about 20 K.This indicates that the resultant compound has a high anisotropy with a large spacing between the FeSe layers.

NMR Evidence of Antiferromagnetic Spin Fluctuations in Nd_(0.85)Sr_(0.15)NiO_(2)

Despite the recent discovery of superconductivity in Nd_(1-x)Sr_(x)NiO_(2) thin films,the absence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in their bulk materials remains a puzzle.Here we report the 1H NMR measurements on powdered Nd0.85Sr0.15NiO2 samples by taking advantage of the enriched proton concentration after hydrogen annealing.We find a large full width at half maximum of the spectrum,which keeps increasing with decreasing the temperature T and exhibits an upturn behavior at low temperatures.The spin-lattice relaxation rate ^(1)T_(1)^(-1) is strongly enhanced when lowering the temperature,developing a broad peak at about 40 K,then decreases following a spin-wave-like behavior ^(1)T_(1)^(-1)∝T^(2) at lower temperatures.These results evidence a short-range glassy antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments below 40 K and dominant antiferromagnetic fluctuations extending to much higher temperatures.Our findings reveal the strong electron correlations in bulk Nd_(0.85)Sr_(0.15)NiO_(2),and shed light on the mechanism of superconductivity observed in films of nickelates.

Physical Properties Revealed by Transport Measurements for Superconducting Nd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)NiO_(2) Thin Films

The newly discovered superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate superconducting films has attracted much attention,largely because their crystalline and electronic structures are similar to those of high-T_(c) cuprate superconductors.The upper critical field can provide a great deal of information on the subject of superconductivity,but detailed experimental data are still lacking for these films.We present the temperature-and angle-dependence of resistivity,measured under different magnetic fields H in Nd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)NiO_(2) thin films.The onset superconducting transition occurs at about 16.2 K at 0 T.Temperature-dependent upper critical fields,determined using a criterion very close to the onset transition,show a clear negative curvature near the critical transition temperature,which can be explained as a consequence of the paramagnetically limited effect on superconductivity.The temperaturedependent anisotropy of the upper critical field is obtained from resistivity data,which yields a value decreasing from 3 to 1.2 with a reduction in temperature.This can be explained in terms of the variable contribution from the orbital limit effect on the upper critical field.The angle-dependence of resistivity at a fixed temperature,and at different magnetic fields,cannot be scaled to a curve,which deviates from the prediction of the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory.However,at low temperatures,the resistance difference can be scaled via the parameter H^(β)| cos θ|(β=6-1),with θ being the angle enclosed between the c-axis and the applied magnetic field.As the first detailed study of the upper critical field of nickelate thin films,our results clearly indicate a small anisotropy,and a paramagnetically limited effect,in terms of superconductivity,in nickelate superconductors.

Specific heat in superconductors

Specific heat is a powerful tool to investigate the physical properties of condensed materials.Superconducting state is achieved through the condensation of paired electrons,namely,the Cooper pairs.The condensed Cooper pairs have lower entropy compared with that of electrons in normal metal,thus specific heat is very useful in detecting the low lying quasiparticle excitations of the superconducting condensate and the pairing symmetry of the superconducting gap.In this brief overview,we will give an introduction to the specific heat investigation of the physical properties of superconductors.We show the data obtained in cuprate and iron based superconductors to reveal the pairing symmetry of the order parameter.

Resistance fluctuations in superconducting K_(x)Fe_(2-y)Se_(2) single crystals studied by low-frequency noise spectroscopy

Low-frequency resistance noise spectroscopy is applied to investigate bulk single crystals of the intercalated ironselenide K_(x)Fe_(2-y)Se_(2) superconductors with different iron vacancy orders.Based on a generalized fluctuation model,the well-observed resistance hump above 100 K is interpreted as an insulator-metal phase transition with a characteristic transition energy of 0.1-0.6 eV,indicating a highly inhomogeneous energy distribution configuration.In the superconducting transition regime,we find that the normalized resistance noise scales with resistance R excellently as S_(R)/R^(2)∝R^(l_(rs)) with the noise exponent lrs≈1.4.With reduced iron vacancy disordering in enhanced superconductivity K_(x)Fe_(2-y)Se_(2) crystals,the level of resistance fluctuations is greatly suppressed,suggesting a geometrical phase transition for conduction channel,which is directly related to the microstructure of the crystals.

Magneto-Elastic Coupling in a Sinusoidal Modulated Magnet Cr_(2)GaN

We use neutron powder diffraction to investigate the magnetic and crystalline structure of Cr_(2)GaN.A magnetic phase transition is identified at T≈170 K,whereas no trace of structural transition is observed down to 6 K.Combining Rietveld refinement with irreducible representations,the spin configuration of Cr ions in Cr_(2)GaN is depicted as an incommensurate sinusoidal modulated structure characterized by a propagating vector k=(0.365,0.365,0).Upon warming up to the paramagnetic state,the magnetic order parameter closely resembles to the temperature dependence of c-axis lattice parameter,suggesting strong magneto-elastic coupling in this compound.Therefore,Cr_(2)Ga N provides a potential platform for exploration of magnetically tuned properties such as magnetoelectric,magnetostrictive and magnetocaloric effects,as well as their applications.

Pressure-induced color change arising from transformation between intra-and inter-band transitions in LuH_(2±x)N_(y)

The pressure-induced color change in the nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride has triggered extensive discussions about the underlying physics and potential applications.Here,we study the optical response of LuH_(2±x)N_(y)in a broad frequency range at ambient pressure and its evolution with pressure in the visible spectral range.The broad-band optical spectra at ambient pressure reveal a Drude component associated with intra-band electronic transitions and two Lorentz components(L1 and L2)arising from inter-band electronic transitions.The application of pressure causes a spectral weight transfer from L1 to the Drude component,leading to a blue shift of the plasma edge in the reflectivity spectrum alongside a reduction of the high-frequency reflectivity.Our results suggest that the pressure-induced color change in LuH_(2±x)N_(y)is closely related to the transformation between intra-and inter-band electronic transitions,providing new insights into the mechanism of the pressure-induced color change in LuH_(2±x)N_(y).

Ferromagnetism and insulating behavior with a logarithmic temperature dependence of resistivity in Pb_(10-x)Cux(PO_(4))_(6)O

Recent claim of discovering above-room-temperature superconductivity(Tc≈400 K)at ambient pressure in copper doped apatite Pb10(PO_(4))_(6)O has stimulated world-wide enthusiasm and impulse of motion.A lot of follow-up works have been carried out with controversial conclusions.To check whether superconductivity is really present or absent in the material,we need samples which should have a rather pure phase of Pb_(10-x)Cux(PO_(4))_(6)O.Here we report the characterization results from the Pb_(10-x)Cux(PO_(4))_(6)O with a fraction of about 97 wt.%inferred from the fitting to the X-ray diffraction pattern,if assuming Cu2S as the only impurity.The resistivity measurements show that it is a semiconductor characterized roughly by a ln(1/T)temperature dependence in wide temperature region without trace of superconductivity.Magnetization measurements show that it has a general ferromagnetic signal with a weak superparamagnetic background.Many grains of the sample show clear interactions with a Nb Fe B magnet.The detected Cu concentration is much lower than the expected nominal one.Our results show the absence of metallicity and superconductivity in Pb_(10-x)Cux(PO_(4))_(6)O at ambient pressure,and suggest the presence of strong correlation effect.

Editorial

Unconventional superconductivity and topological quantum phenomena are two frontier research directions of condensed matter physics. In this special topic, we collect several works covering important progress in these two directions. Superconductivity was discovered in Hg in 1911 by the group of Kamerling Onnes in Leiden （Holland）.

Protonation induced high-T_c phases in iron-based superconductors evidenced by NMR and magnetization measurements

Chemical substitution during growth is a well-established method to manipulate electronic states of quantum materials, and leads to rich spectra of phase diagrams in cuprate and iron-based superconductors. Here we report a novel and generic strategy to achieve nonvolatile electron doping in series of(i.e.11 and 122 structures) Fe-based superconductors by ionic liquid gating induced protonation at room temperature. Accumulation of protons in bulk compounds induces superconductivity in the parent compounds, and enhances the Tclargely in some superconducting ones. Furthermore, the existence of proton in the lattice enables the first proton nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) study to probe directly superconductivity. Using Fe S as a model system, our NMR study reveals an emergent high-Tcphase with no coherence peak which is hard to measure by NMR with other isotopes. This novel electric-fieldinduced proton evolution opens up an avenue for manipulation of competing electronic states(e.g.Mott insulators), and may provide an innovative way for a broad perspective of NMR measurements with greatly enhanced detecting resolution.

Comparative study of vortex dynamics in CaKFe_4As_4 and Ba_(0.6)K_(0.4)Fe_2As_2 single crystals

We investigate the vortex dynamics in two typical hole doped iron based superconductors CaKFe_4As_4(CaK1144) and Ba_(0.6)K_(0.4)Fe_2As_2(BaK122) with similar superconducting transition temperatures. It is found that the magnetization hysteresis loop exhibits a clear second peak effect in BaK122 in wide temperature region while it is absent in CaK1144. However, a second peak effect of critical current density versus temperature is observed in CaK1144, which is however absent in BaK122. The different behaviors of second peak effect in BaK122 and CaK1144 may suggest distinct origins of vortex pinning in different systems. Magnetization and its relaxation have also been measured by using dynamical and conventional relaxation methods for both systems. Analysis and comparison of the two distinct systems show that the vortex pinning is stronger and the critical current density is higher in BaK122 system. It is found that the Maley's method can be used and thus the activation energy can be determined in BaK122 by using the time dependent magnetization in wide temperature region, but this is not applicable in CaK1144 system.Finally we present the different regimes with distinct vortex dynamics in the field-temperature diagram for the two systems.

Pressure induced color change and evolution of metallic behavior in nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride

By applying pressures up to 42 GPa on the nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride(LuH2_(±x)N_(y)),we have found a gradual change of color from dark-blue to pink-violet in the pressure region of about 12 to 21 GPa.The temperature dependence of resistivity under pressures up to 50.5 GPa shows progressively optimized metallic behavior with pressure.Interestingly,in the pressure region for the color change,a clear decrease of resistivity is observed with the increase of pressure,which is accompanied by a clear increase of the residual resistivity ratio(RRR).Fitting to the low temperature resistivity gives exponents of about 2,suggesting a Fermi-liquid behavior in the low temperature region.The general behavior in a wide temperature region suggests that the electron-phonon scattering is still the dominant one.The magnetoresistance up to 9 T in the state under a pressure of 50.5 GPa shows an almost negligible effect,which suggests that the electric conduction in the pink-violet state is dominated by a single band.It is highly desired to have theoretical efforts in understanding the evolution of color and resistivity in this interesting system.

Contrasting physical properties of the trilayer nickelates Nd4Ni3O10 and Nd4Ni3O8

We report the crystal structures and physical properties of trilayer nickelates Nd4Ni3O10and Nd4Ni3O8.Measurements of magnetization and electrical resistivity display contrasting behaviors in the two compounds.Nd4Ni3O10shows a paramagnetic metallic behavior with a metal-to-metal phase transition(T^*)at about 162 K,as revealed by both magnetic susceptibility and resistivity.Further magnetoresistance and Hall coefficient results show a negative magnetoresistance at low temperatures and the carrier type of Nd4Ni3O10is dominated by hole-type charge carriers.The significant enhancement of Hall coefficient and resistivity below T*suggests that effective charge carrier density decreases when cooling through the transition temperature.In contrast,Nd4Ni3O8 shows an insulating behavior.In addition,this compound shows a paramagnetic behavior with the similar magnetic moment as that of Nd4Ni3O10derived from the Curie-Weiss fitting.This may suggest that the magnetic moments in both systems are contributed by Nd^3+ ions.By applying pressures up to about 49 GPa,the insulating behavior is still present and becomes even stronger under a high pressure.Our results suggest that the different Ni configurations(Ni^1+/2+ or Ni^2+/3+)and the changes of coordination environment of Ni sites may account for the contrasting behaviors in trilayer nickelates Nd4Ni3O10and Nd4Ni3O8.

Robust superconductivity and transport properties in (Li_(1-x)Fe_x)OHFeSe single crystals

The recently discovered(Li_(1-x) Fe_x)OHFe Se superconductor with T c about 40 K provides a good platform for investigating the magnetization and electrical transport properties of Fe Se-based superconductors. By using a hydrothermal ion-exchange method,we have successfully grown crystals of(Li_(1-x) Fe_x)OHFe Se. X-ray diffraction on the sample shows the single crystalline Pb O-type structure with the c-axis preferential orientation. Magnetic susceptibility and resistive measurements show an onset superconducting transition at around T c=38.3 K. Using the magnetization hysteresis loops and Bean critical state model, a large critical current J s is observed in low temperature region. The critical current density is suppressed exponentially with increasing magnetic field.Temperature dependencies of resistivity under various currents and fields are measured, revealing a robust superconducting current density and bulk superconductivity.

Superconductivity with two-fold symmetry in topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3

Topological superconductivity is the quantum condensate of paired electrons with an odd parity of the pairing function. By using a Corbino-shape like electrode configuration, we measure the c-axis resistivity of the recently discovered superconductor SrxBi2Se3 with the magnetic field rotating within the basal planes, and find clear evidence of two-fold superconductivity. The Lane diffraction measurements on these samples show that the maximum gap direction is either parallel or perpendicular to the main crystallographic axis. This observation is consistent with the theoretical prediction and strongly suggests that SrxBi2Se3 is a topological superconductor.

Anomalous phonon softening in the topological insulator Sn-doped Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S

Investigations into the phonon behavior provide important information on interactions between different excitations in quantum materials.We perform a detailed study of the phonon behavior in the topological insulator Sn-doped Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S using infrared spectroscopy.We observe two IR-active phonon modes at about 64 and 165 cm^1,which are labeled withαandβ,respectively.While the evolution of theβmode with temperature can be well described by the expected anharmonic decay process,theαmode shifts to lower frequencies with decreasing temperature.Such an anomalous softening of theαmode may arise from the charged-phonon effect due to the coupling between this mode and the topological surface states in Sn-doped Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S.

Superconductivity in nickel-based 112 systems

Superconductivity has been discovered recently in infinite-layer nickel-based 112 thin films R_(1-x)A_(x)NiO_(2)(R=La,Nd,Pr and A=Sr,Ca).They are isostructural to the infinite-layer cuprate(Ca,Sr)CuO_(2)and are supposed to have a formal Ni 3d9 valence,thus providing a new platform to study the unconventional pairing mechanismof high-temperature superconductors.This important discovery immediately triggers a huge amount of innovative scientific curiosity in the field.In this paper,we try to give an overview of the recent research progress on the newly found superconducting nickelate systems,both from experimental and theoretical aspects.We mainly focus on the electronic structures,magnetic excitations,phase diagrams and superconducting gaps,and finally make some open discussions for possible pairing symmetries in Ni-based 112 systems.

Point-contact tunneling spectroscopy between a Nb tip and an ideal topological insulator Sn-doped Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S

The lightly Sn-doped Bi1.1Sb0.9Te2S is a good material to investigate the pure topological surface state because the bulk bands are far away from the Fermi level. By measuring point-contact tunneling spectra on the topological insulator Bi1.08Sn0.02Sb0.9Te2S samples with a superconducting Nb tip, we observed the suppression of differential conductance near zero bias, instead of the enhancement due to Andreev reflection on the spectra. The fitting to the measured spectrum results in a superconducting gap of more than 4 meV, and this value is much larger than the superconducting gap of the bulk Nb. The gaped feature exists at temperatures even above the critical temperature of bulk Nb, and is visible when the magnetic field is as large as 9 T at 3 K. We argue that such behaviors may be related to the pressure induced superconductivity by the tip in the junction area, or just some novel phenomena arising from the junction between an s-wave superconductor and an ideal topological insulator.

Planckian dissipation and non-Ginzburg-Landau type upper critical field in Bi2201

Resistivity and Hall effect measurements have been carried out on a micro-fabricated bridge of Bi2201 single crystal at low temperatures down to 0.4 K under high magnetic fields.When superconductivity is crashed by a high magnetic field,the recovered "normal state" resistivity still shows a linear temperature dependence in the low temperature region.Combining with the effective mass and the charge carrier density,we get a linear scattering rate 1/τ=αkBT/h with 0.77 <α <1.16,which gives a strong evidence of the Planckian dissipation.Furthermore,our results reveal a new type of temperature dependence of the upper critical field,H_(c2)(T)=H*■,which is totally different from the expectation of the Ginzburg-Landau theory,and suggests the existence of uncondensed Cooper pairs above H_(c2)(T) line.