Reply to {open_quotes}Comment on {open_quote}Paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb{close_quote} {close_quotes}
- Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)
Rice and Sigrist (RS) have proposed a d-wave mechanism to explain the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) observed in some inhomogeneous samples of high-T{sub c} superconductors. However, the observation of a PME in some inhomogeneous samples of Nb (an s-wave superconductor) demonstrates that a d-wave pairing mechanism is not needed to produce the effect. Moreover, the remarkable similarity between the PME observed in these Nb and in the high-T{sub c} samples argues that the same mechanism is operable in both types of superconductors. In this Reply, new measurements on La{sub 2}CuO{sub 4+{delta}} and on irradiated Nb are discussed, which strongly support the notion that the PME is most likely associated with layered T{sub c} inhomogeneities. Further experiments to test this notion are proposed. We also discuss critically the three experiments proposed by RS to distinguish between two PME mechanisms unrelated to layered T{sub c} inhomogeneities. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 509056
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter, Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 55; ISSN 0163-1829; ISSN PRBMDO
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Paramagnetic Meissner effect in conventional Nb superconductors
Comment on {open_quotes}Paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb{close_quotes}