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Field-induced transition within the superconducting state of CeRh₂As₂
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Field-induced transition within the superconducting state of CeRh₂As₂

S. Khim, J. F. Landaeta, J. Banda, N. Bannor, M. Brando, P. M. R. Brydon, D. Hafner, R. Küchler, R. Cardoso-Gil, U. Stockert, …
Science, Vol.373(6558), pp.1012-1016
27/08/2021
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/10523/24822

Abstract

Materials with multiple superconducting phases are rare. Here, we report the discovery of two-phase unconventional superconductivity in CeRh₂As₂. Using thermodynamic probes, we establish that the superconducting critical field of its high-field phase is as high as 14 tesla, even though the transition temperature is only 0.26 kelvin. Furthermore, a transition between two different superconducting phases is observed in a c axis magnetic field. Local inversion-symmetry breaking at the cerium sites enables Rashba spin-orbit coupling alternating between the cerium sublayers. The staggered Rashba coupling introduces a layer degree of freedom to which the field-induced transition and high critical field seen in experiment are likely related.

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