Second-order Structural Transition in Superconductor La${}_3$Co${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$

Abstract

The quasi-skutterudite superconductor La${}_3$Co${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ undergoes a phase transition at $T^{\ast }=152$ K. By measuring the temperature dependence of heat capacity, electrical resistivity, and the superlattice reflection intensity using X-ray, we explore the character of the phase transition at $T^{\ast }$. Our lattice dynamic calculations found imaginary phonon frequencies around the $\mathbf{M}$ point, when the high temperature structure is used in the calculations, indicating that the structure is unstable at the zero temperature limit. The combined experimental and computational results establish that $T^{\ast }$ is associated with a second-order structural transition with $\mathbf{q}$=(0.5, 0.5, 0) (or the $\mathbf{M}$ point). Further electronic bandstructure calculations reveal Fermi surface sheets with low curvature segments, which allow us to draw qualitative comparison with both Sr${}_3$Ir${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ and Sr${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ in which similar physics has been discussed recently.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Com)

References in corpus (25)

• High-temperature superconductivity in iron-based materials
• Quantum Criticality in Heavy Fermion Metals
• To What Extent Iron-Pnictide New Superconductors Have Been Clarified: A Progress Report
• Lattice dynamics of BaTiO3, PbTiO3 and PbZrO3: a comparative first-principles study
• Quantum critical point lying beneath the superconducting dome in iron-pnictides
• A Sharp Peak of the Zero-Temperature Penetration Depth at Optimal Composition in BaFe2(As1-xPx)2
• Unified explanation of the Kadowaki-Woods ratio in strongly correlated materials
• First-Principles Determination of Chain-Structure Instability in KNbO${}_3$
• Pressure-induced and Composition-induced Structural Quantum Phase Transition in the Cubic Superconductor (Sr/Ca)_3Ir_4Sn_{13}
• Ambient Pressure Structural Quantum Critical Point in the Phase Diagram of (Ca${}_x$Sr${}_{1-x}$)${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$
• Superconductivity of La${}_3$Co${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ and La${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$: A comparative study
• Ca${}_3$Ir${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$: A weakly correlated nodeless superconductor
• Strong Coupling Superconductivity in the Vicinity of the Structural Quantum Critical Point in (Ca${}_x$Sr${}_{1-x}$)${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$
• Superconductivity near the vibrational mode instability in MgCNi3
• Electronic structure and phonon instabilities in the vicinity of the structural transition and superconductivity of (Sr,Ca)${}_3$Ir${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$
• Nodeless superconductivity in Ca3Ir4Sn13: evidence from quasiparticle heat transport
• Crystal structure and phonon softening in Ca3Ir4Sn13
• Unconventional charge-density wave in Sr3Ir4Sn13 cubic superconductor revealed by optical spectroscopy study
• Electron-phonon superconductivity and charge density wave instability in the layered titanium-based pnictide BaTi${}_2$Sb${}_2$O
• Microscopic studies of the normal and superconducting state of Ca3Ir4Sn13
• Superconducting and magnetic properties of Sr3Ir4Sn13
• Strong enhancement of conventional superconductivity near a quantum critical point of (Ca,Sr)_3Ir_4Sn_13
• Superconductivity in the presence of disorder in skutterudite-related La${}_3$Co${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ and La${}_3$Ru${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ compounds; electrical transport and magnetic studies
• Experimental Determination of the Fermi Surface of Sr3Ir4Sn13
• ${}^{119}$Sn-NMR investigations on superconducting Ca${}_3$Ir${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$: Evidence for multigap superconductivity

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Evidence of a structural quantum critical point in (Ca${}_x$Sr${}_{1-x}$)${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$ from a lattice dynamics study
• Soft phonon modes in the vicinity of the structural quantum critical point
• The effective increase in atomic scale disorder by doping and superconductivity in Ca${}_3$Rh${}_4$Sn${}_{13}$