Field-induced transition within the superconducting state of CeRh<sub>2</sub>As<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34446602.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.abe7518.
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Abstract
Materials with multiple superconducting phases are rare. Here, we report the discovery of two-phase unconventional superconductivity in CeRh<sub>2</sub>As<sub>2</sub> Using thermodynamic probes, we establish that the superconducting critical field of its high-field phase is as high as 14 tesla, even though the transition temperature is only 0.26 kelvin. Furthermore, a transition between two different superconducting phases is observed in a <i>c</i> axis magnetic field. Local inversion-symmetry breaking at the cerium sites enables Rashba spin-orbit coupling alternating between the cerium sublayers. The staggered Rashba coupling introduces a layer degree of freedom to which the field-induced transition and high critical field seen in experiment are likely related.