Wide Critical Fluctuations of the Field-Induced Phase Transition in Graphite.

In the immediate vicinity of the critical temperature (T_{c}) of a phase transition, there are fluctuations of the order parameter that reside beyond the mean-field approximation. Such critical fluctuations usually occur in a very narrow temperature window in contrast to Gaussian fluctuations. Here, we report on a study of specific heat in graphite subject to a high magnetic field when all carriers are confined in the lowest Landau levels. The observation of a BCS-like specific heat jump in both temperature and field sweeps establishes that the phase transition discovered decades ago in graphite is of the second order. The jump is preceded by a steady field-induced enhancement of the electronic specific heat. A modest (20%) reduction in the amplitude of the magnetic field (from 33 to 27 T) leads to a threefold decrease of T_{c} and a drastic widening of the specific heat anomaly, which acquires a tail spreading to two times T_{c}. We argue that the steady departure from the mean-field BCS behavior is the consequence of an exceptionally large Ginzburg number in this dilute metal, which grows steadily as the field lowers. Our fit of the critical fluctuations indicates that they belong to the 3DXY universality class as in the case of the ^{4}He superfluid transition.

Unveiling the double-peak structure of quantum oscillations in the specific heat.

Quantum oscillation phenomenon is an essential tool to understand the electronic structure of quantum matter. Here we report a systematic study of quantum oscillations in the electronic specific heat Cel in natural graphite. We show that the crossing of a single spin Landau level and the Fermi energy give rise to a double-peak structure, in striking contrast to the single peak expected from Lifshitz-Kosevich theory. Intriguingly, the double-peak structure is predicted by the kernel term for Cel/T in the free electron theory. The Cel/T represents a spectroscopic tuning fork of width 4.8kBT which can be tuned at will to resonance. Using a coincidence method, the double-peak structure can be used to accurately determine the Landé g-factors of quantum materials. More generally, the tuning fork can be used to reveal any peak in fermionic density of states tuned by magnetic field, such as Lifshitz transition in heavy-fermion compounds.

[A rare case of non-secretory multiple myeloma]. / Un cas rare de myélome multiple non-sécrétant.

An 88-year-old man is sent to hospital because of a rapid worthening of his general state. A myelogram is obtained following the discovery of hypercalcemia associated with a diminished glomerular filtration rate and the discovery of osteolytic lesions, showing a massive proliferation of plasma cells. The lack of plasma and urine detection of both monoclonal antibodies and immunoglobulin light chains, as well as an immature plasma cell phenotype, suggest the diagnosis of non-secretory multiple myeloma. This article aims to describe the atypical clinical presentation of a rare case of multiple myeloma.

Superconducting group-IV semiconductors.

Despite the amount of experimental and theoretical work on doping-induced superconductivity in covalent semiconductors based on group IV elements over the past four years, many open questions and puzzling results remain to be clarified. The nature of the coupling (whether mediated by electronic correlation, phonons or both), the relationship between the doping concentration and the critical temperature (T(c)), which affects the prospects for higher transition temperatures, and the influence of disorder and dopant homogeneity are debated issues that will determine the future of the field. Here, we present recent achievements and predictions, with a focus on boron-doped diamond and silicon. We also suggest that innovative superconducting devices, combining specific properties of diamond or silicon with the maturity of semiconductor-based technologies, will soon be developed.

AC measurement of heat capacity and magnetocaloric effect for pulsed magnetic fields.

A new calorimeter for measurements of the heat capacity and magnetocaloric effect of small samples in pulsed magnetic fields is discussed for the exploration of thermal and thermodynamic properties at temperatures down to 2 K. We tested the method up to µ(0)H=50 T, but it could be extended to higher fields. For these measurements we used carefully calibrated bare-chip Cernox(®) and RuO(2) thermometers, and we present a comparison of their performances. The monotonic temperature and magnetic field dependences of the magnetoresistance of RuO(2) allow thermometry with a precision as good as ±4 mK at T=2 K. To test the performance of our calorimeter, heat capacity and magnetocaloric effect for the spin-dimer compound Sr(3)Cr(2)O(8) and the triangular lattice antiferromagnet RbFe(MoO(4))(2) are presented.