Magnetism meets Superconductivity Zachary Fisk, University of California Irvine DMR-0503360 and DMR-0710492

1
Magnetism meets SuperconductivityZachary Fisk,
University of California Irvine DMR-0503360 and
DMR-0710492
Magnetism is the foe of conventional
superconductors, but in unconventional
superconductors, such as high Tc cuprates and
heavy Fermions in which the superconducting
condensate takes a different form which often is
nearly magnetic, the relationship between
superconductivity and magnetism is still being
worked out. In crystals of CeCoIn5 grown from
molten In1-xCdx one finds that both
unconventional superconductivity (sc) and
magnetism (af) exist together, and our
collaborative research with physicists from Los
Alamos and Dresden (to appear in Physical Review
B) seeks to understand this coexistence. The
magnetic ordering signal of the nominal x0.1
material indicated in the upper panel is shown in
the lower panel, and it is seen that the signal
grows in the ordered state below 3K only until
superconductivity sets in at 1.4K. It appears
that magnetism and superconductivity can coexist
by dividing up the electrons available in this
metallic compound between them.
2
Magnetism meets SuperconductivityZachary Fisk,
University of California Irvine DMR 0503360 and
DMR 0710492
Education Five graduate students have been
involved in the work on CeCoIn5 related
materials. Three of these students have received
their PhDs this year. Two are now working in
industry and one is a post doctoral fellow at Los
Alamos National laboratory. One undergraduate
student has completed a directed research project
on related intermetallic materials, and this
Summer an Irvine high school junior has worked in
our laboratory growing the Cd-doped crystals and
analyzing their properties.
Societal Impact CeCoIn5 was discovered in
NSF-DMR funded research and has proven to be an
ideal material for studying physics at the
magnetic/superconducting boundary. Parallels have
been demonstrated between the superconductivity
of this material and high Tc cuprate
superconductors, and the understanding of the
physics and chemistry of these materials suggests
way to explore for new transition metal materials
with improved technological properties.