Hybridization and superconducting gaps in heavy-fermion superconductor PuCoGa5 probed via the dynamics of photoinduced quasiparticles
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- CANADA
We have examined the relaxation of photoinduced quasiparticles in the heavy-fermion superconductor PuCoGa{sub 5}. The deduced electron-phonon coupling constant is incompatible with the measured superconducting transition temperature T{sub c}, which speaks against phonon-mediated superconducting pairing. Upon lowering the temperature, we observe an order-of-magnitude increase of the quasiparticle relaxation time in agreement with the phonon bottleneck scenario - evidence for the presence of a hybridization gap in the electronic density of states. The modification of photoinduced reflectance in the superconducting state is consistent with the heavy character of the quasiparticles that participate in Cooper pairing. The discovery of relatively high-temperature superconductivity in the Pu-based compounds PuCoGa{sub 5} (T{sub c} = 18.5 K) and PuRhGa{sub 5} (T{sub c} = 8.7 K) has renewed the interest in actinide materials research. The Pu-based superconductors share the HoCoGa{sub 5}-type tetragonal lattice stucture with the Ce-based series of compounds (CeRhIn{sub 5}, CeCoIn{sub 5}, and CeIrIn{sub 5}) commonly referred to as '115' materials. In the Ce-based 115 compounds, CeIrIn{sub 5} (T{sub c} = 0.4 K) and CeCoIn{sub 5} (T{sub c} = 2.3 K), display superconductivity at ambient pressure. Both Ce- and Pu-based 115 compounds display the heavy fermion behavior resulting from the influence of 4f (Ce) and 5f (Pu) electrons. The most intriguing question concerns the origin of superconductivity (SC) in the 115 materials. In the Ce series, the d-wave symmetry of the SC order parameter and the proximity of SC order to magnetism have lead to a widespread belief that the unconventional SC is induced by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. In the Pu compounds, two possible scenarios regarding the SC mechanism have been considered: one approach favors a magnetically mediated unconventional SC similar to that in CeCoIn{sub 5}. In the other scenario, the conventional SC is mediated by phonons, where the strength of the electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling {lambda} is the crucial parameter that sets the superconducting transition temperature T{sub c}. In this Letter, we present a measurement of the e-ph coupling constant {lambda} via the pump-probe optical study of the room-temperature relaxation time of photoinduced reflectance. We find that e-ph coupling ({lambda} = 0.2-0.26) is too weak to explain the high T{sub c} of PuCoGa{sub 5} and that phonon-mediated superconductivity is unlikely in this material. Upon lowering the temperature in the normal state (T > T{sub c}), we find an order-of-magnitude increase in the relaxation time consistent with a phonon bottleneck, similar to other heavy-fermion materials, which provides the first optical evidence of the presence of a hybridization gap in the electronic density of states (DOS). Below T{sub c}, the photoinduced response exhibits dramatic changes that we ascribe to the opening of the superconducting (SC) gap at the Fermi level. The observed dynamics confirms that the same quasiparticles detected in the normal state, i.e., the heavy quasiparticles, also participate in the SC pairing. Our study is the first to directly probe the electronic structure of PuCoGa{sub 5} in the SC state and corroborate that fact. Our results are consistent with the theoretical investigations, which find that the electronic structure is dominated by cylindrical sheets of Fermi surfaces with large 5f electron character, suggesting that the delocalized 5f electrons of Pu playa key role in the superconducting pairing.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 971323
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-09-06254; LA-UR-09-6254; TRN: US201004%%85
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letter, Journal Name: Physical Review Letter
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACTINIDES
COUPLING CONSTANTS
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
ELECTRON-PHONON COUPLING
ELECTRONS
FERMI LEVEL
FERMIONS
FLUCTUATIONS
HYBRIDIZATION
MAGNETISM
MODIFICATIONS
ORDER PARAMETERS
ORIGIN
PHONONS
PROBES
RELAXATION
RELAXATION TIME
SPIN
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
SUPERCONDUCTORS
SYMMETRY
TETRAGONAL LATTICES
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE