Multicomponent odd-parity superconductivity in UAu2 at high pressure.

We report that high-quality single crystals of the hexagonal heavy fermion material uranium diauride (UAu2) become superconducting at pressures above 3.2 GPa, the pressure at which an unusual antiferromagnetic state is suppressed. The antiferromagnetic state hosts a marginal fermi liquid and the pressure evolution of the resistivity within this state is found to be very different from that approaching a standard quantum phase transition. The superconductivity that appears above this transition survives in high magnetic fields with a large critical field for all field directions. The critical field also has an unusual angle dependence suggesting that the superconductivity may have an order parameter with multiple components. An order parameter consistent with these observations is predicted to host half-quantum vortices (HQVs). Such vortices can be topologically entangled and have potential applications in quantum computing.

Non-Fermi liquid behavior below the Néel temperature in the frustrated heavy fermion magnet UAu2.

The term Fermi liquid is almost synonymous with the metallic state. The association is known to break down at quantum critical points (QCPs), but these require precise values of tuning parameters, such as pressure and applied magnetic field, to exactly suppress a continuous phase transition temperature to the absolute zero. Three-dimensional non-Fermi liquid states, apart from superconductivity, that are unshackled from a QCP are much rarer and are not currently well understood. Here, we report that the triangular lattice system uranium diauride (UAu2) forms such a state with a non-Fermi liquid low-temperature heat capacity [Formula: see text] and electrical resistivity [Formula: see text] far below its Néel temperature. The magnetic order itself has a novel structure and is accompanied by weak charge modulation that is not simply due to magnetostriction. The charge modulation continues to grow in amplitude with decreasing temperature, suggesting that charge degrees of freedom play an important role in the non-Fermi liquid behavior. In contrast with QCPs, the heat capacity and resistivity we find are unusually resilient in magnetic field. Our results suggest that a combination of magnetic frustration and Kondo physics may result in the emergence of this novel state.

Field-Induced Modulated State in the Ferromagnet PrPtAl.

The theory of quantum order-by-disorder (QOBD) explains the formation of modulated magnetic states at the boundary between ferromagnetism and paramagnetism in zero field. PrPtAl has been argued to provide an archetype for this. Here, we report the phase diagram in magnetic field, applied along both the easy a axis and hard b axis. For field aligned to the b axis, we find that the magnetic transition temperatures are suppressed and at low temperature there is a single modulated fan state, separating an easy a axis ferromagnetic state from a field polarized state. This fan state is well explained with the QOBD theory in the presence of anisotropy and field. Experimental evidence supporting the QOBD explanation is provided by the large increase in the T^{2} coefficient of the resistivity and direct detection of enhanced magnetic fluctuations with inelastic neutron scattering, across the field range spanned by the fan state. This shows that the QOBD mechanism can explain field induced modulated states that persist to very low temperature.

New sustainable ternary copper phosphide thermoelectrics.

The thermoelectric performance of ACuP (A = Mg and Ca) with abundant elements and low gravimetric density is reported. Both systems are p-type doped by intrinsic Cu vacancy defects, have large power factors and promising figures of merit, reaching zT = 0.5 at 800 K. This demonstrates that copper phosphides are a potential new class of thermoelectric materials for waste heat harvesting.

A laboratory-based Laue X-ray diffraction system for enhanced imaging range and surface grain mapping.

Although CCD X-ray detectors can be faster to use, their large-area versions can be much more expensive than similarly sized photographic plate detectors. When indexing X-ray diffraction patterns, large-area detectors can prove very advantageous as they provide more spots, which makes fitting an orientation easier. On the other hand, when looking for single crystals in a polycrystalline sample, the speed of CCD detectors is more useful. A new setup is described here which overcomes some of the limitations of limited-range CCD detectors to make them more useful for indexing, whilst at the same time making it much quicker to find single crystals within a larger polycrystalline structure. This was done by combining a CCD detector with a six-axis goniometer, allowing the compilation of images from different angles into a wide-angled image. Automated scans along the sample were coupled with image processing techniques to produce grain maps, which can then be used to provide a strategy to extract single crystals from a polycrystal.

Turnbuckle diamond anvil cell for high-pressure measurements in a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer.

We have developed a miniature diamond anvil cell for magnetization measurements in a widely used magnetic property measurement system commercial magnetometer built around a superconducting quantum interference device. The design of the pressure cell is based on the turnbuckle principle in which force can be created and maintained by rotating the body of the device while restricting the counterthreaded end-nuts to translational movement. The load on the opposed diamond anvils and the sample between them is generated using a hydraulic press. The load is then locked by rotating the body of the cell with respect to the end-nuts. The dimensions of the pressure cell have been optimized by use of finite element analysis. The cell is approximately a cylinder 7 mm long and 7 mm in diameter and weighs only 1.5 g. Due to its small size the cell thermalizes rapidly. It is capable of achieving pressures in excess of 10 GPa while allowing measurements to be performed with the maximum sensitivity of the magnetometer. The performance of the pressure cell is illustrated by a high pressure magnetic study of Mn(3)[Cr(CN)(6)](2) x xH(2)O Prussian blue analog up to 10.3 GPa.

High pressure synthesis of late rare earth RFeAs(O,F) superconductors; R = Tb and Dy.

New TbFeAs(O,F) and DyFeAs(O,F) superconductors with critical temperatures T(c) = 46 and 45 K and very high critical fields, >or=100 T, have been prepared at 1100-1150 degrees C and 10-12 GPa, demonstrating that high pressure may be used to synthesise late rare earth derivatives of the recently reported RFeAs(O,F) (R = La-Nd, Sm, Gd) high temperature superconductors.