Missing link to novel superconductivity revealed at Ames Laboratory

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have discovered a state of magnetism that may be Ames Laboratory
to understanding the relationship between magnetism and unconventional superconductivity. The research, recently published in npj Nature Quantum Materials, provides tantalizing new possibilities for attaining superconducting states in iron-based materials.

"In the research of quantum materials, it's long been theorized that there are three types of magnetism associated with superconductivity. One type is very commonly found, another type is very limited and only found in rare situations, and this third type was unknown, until our discovery," said Paul Canfield, a senior scientist at Ames Laboratory and a Distinguished Professor and the Robert Allen Wright Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State University.

The scientists suspected that the material they studied, the iron arsenide CaKFe4As4 , was such a strong superconductor because there was an associated magnetic ordering hiding nearby. Creating a variant of the compound by substituting in cobalt and nickel at precise locations, called "doping," slightly distorted the atomic arrangements which induced the new magnetic order while retaining its superconducting properties.

"The resources of the national laboratories were essential for providing for the diversity of techniques needed to reveal this new magnetic state," said Canfield. "We've been able to stabilize it, it's robust, and now we're able study it.

"We think by understanding the three different types of magnetism that can give birth to iron-based superconductors, we'll have a better sense of the necessary ingredients for this kind of superconductivity."

The research is further discussed in the paper, "Hedgehog spin-vortex crystal stabilized in a hole-doped iron-based superconductor," authored by William R. Meier, Qing-Ping Ding, Andreas Kreyssig, Sergey L. Bud'ko, Aashish Sapkota, Karunakar Kothapalli, Vladislav Borisov, Roser Valenti, Cristian D. Batista, Peter P. Orth, Rafael M. Fernandes, Alan I. Goldman, Yuji Furukawa, Anna E. Bohmer, and Paul C. Canfield; and published in the journal npj Nature Quantum Materials.

Related Links
Ames Laboratory
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Clemson researchers blaze new ground in wireless energy generation
Clemson SC (SPX) Feb 12, 2018
Researchers from Clemson's Nanomaterials Institute (CNI) are one step closer to wirelessly powering the world using triboelectricity - a green energy source. In March 2017, a group of physicists at CNI invented the ultra-simple triboelectric nanogenerator, or U-TENG - a small device made simply of plastic and tape that generates electricity from motion and vibrations. When the two materials are brought together - through clapping your hands or tapping your feet, for example - a voltage is generate ... read more