Unconventional superconductivity of NpPd(5)Al(2).

ABSTRACT

The high quality single crystals of NpPd(5)Al(2) with the body-centered tetragonal structure were grown by the Pb flux method. NpPd(5)Al(2) was found to be the first Np-based heavy fermion superconductor with the relatively high critical temperature T(sc) = 4.9 K. The upper critical field H(c2) is large and highly anisotropic. Corresponding to the heavy electronic state, the initial slope of H(c2) is large, but H(c2) at low temperatures is suppressed by the magnetic field, indicating a strong Pauli paramagnetic effect and the first-order transition at H(c2). These results imply that NpPd(5)Al(2) is located at the proximity of the antiferromagnetic ordering, which might be hidden by the superconductivity. The d-wave superconductivity with a spin singlet state is most likely realized in NpPd(5)Al(2).