Pressured-induced superconducting phase with large upper critical field and concomitant enhancement of antiferromagnetic transition in EuTe<sub>2</sub>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35624231.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30718-5 and PMC identifier 9142537.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We report an unusual pressure-induced superconducting state that coexists with an antiferromagnetic ordering of Eu<sup>2+</sup> moments and shows a large upper critical field comparable to the Pauli paramagnetic limit in EuTe<sub>2</sub>. In concomitant with the emergence of superconductivity with T<sub>c</sub> ≈ 3-5 K above P<sub>c</sub> ≈ 6 GPa, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature T<sub>N</sub>(P) experiences a quicker rise with the slope increased dramatically from dT<sub>N</sub>/dP = 0.85(14) K/GPa for P ≤ P<sub>c</sub> to 3.7(2) K/GPa for P ≥ P<sub>c</sub>. Moreover, the superconducting state can survive in the spin-flop state with a net ferromagnetic component of the Eu<sup>2+</sup> sublattice under moderate magnetic fields μ<sub>0</sub>H ≥ 2 T. Our findings establish the pressurized EuTe<sub>2</sub> as a rare magnetic superconductor possessing an intimated interplay between magnetism and superconductivity.