Hybrid gap structure in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn${}_5$

Abstract

The thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeIrIn${}_5$ was measured as a function of temperature down to $T_c$/8, for current directions perpendicular ($J\parallel a$) and parallel ($J\parallel c$) to the tetragonal c axis. For $J\parallel a$, a sizable residual linear term ${\kappa }_0/T$ is observed, as previously, which confirms the presence of line nodes in the superconducting gap. For $J\parallel c$, on the other hand, $\kappa /T\to 0$ as $T\to 0$. The resulting precipitous decline in the anisotropy ratio ${\kappa }_c/{\kappa }_a$ at low temperature rules out a gap structure with line nodes running along the c-axis, such as the d-wave state favoured for CeCoIn${}_5$, and instead points to a hybrid gap of $E_g$ symmetry. It therefore appears that two distinct superconducting states are realized in the Ce$M$In${}_5$ family.

arXiv comment4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett

References in corpus (18)

• Heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCoIn5 at 2.3K
• Angular Position of Nodes in the Superconducting Gap of Quasi-2D Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn_5
• A New Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeIrIn5: Relative of the Cuprates?
• Unconventional superconductivity in CeIrIn${}_5$ and CeCoIn${}_5$: Specific heat and thermal conductivity studies
• Electronic thermal conductivity and the Wiedemann-Franz law for unconventional superconductors
• Universal Heat Conduction in YBa_2Cu_3O_6.9
• Strong-coupling theory of superconductivity in a degenerate Hubbard model
• Unique Spin Dynamics and Unconventional Superconductivity in the Layered Heavy Fermion Compound CeIrIn_5:NQR Evidence
• Field-angle Dependence of the Zero-Energy Density of States in the Unconventional Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn5
• Unpaired Electrons in the Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn_{5}
• Universal Heat Transport in Sr2RuO4
• Nodal structure of quasi-2D superconductors probed by magnetic field
• Two Superconducting Phases in CeRh_1-xIr_xIn_5
• Enhancing the Superconducting Transition Temperature in the Absence of Spin Correlations in Heavy Fermion Compound CeIrIn${}_5$
• The Origin of Anomalous Low-Temperature Downturns in the Thermal Conductivity of Cuprates
• Thermal Conductivity of Superconducting UPt${}_3$ at Low Temperatures
• Thermal Conductivity Anisotropy in Superconducting $UP{t}_3$
• Interplane and intraplane heat transport in quasi two-dimensional nodal superconductors

Cited by in corpus (19)

• Superconducting phases of f-electron compounds
• Nodes in the gap structure of the iron-arsenide superconductor Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_x)_2As_2 from c-axis heat transport measurements
• Point Node Gap Structure of Spin-Triplet Superconductor UTe2
• Heat transport as a probe of superconducting gap structure
• Thermal conductivity evidence for d_{x^2-y^2} pairing symmetry in the heavy-fermion CeIrIn5 superconductor
• Nodal quasiparticle dynamics in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 revealed by precision microwave spectroscopy
• Quasiparticle interference in heavy Fermion superconductor CeCoIn_5
• Hall effect in heavy-fermion metals
• Electron irradiation effects on superconductivity in PdTe${}_2$: an application of a generalized Anderson theorem
• Magneto-transport properties governed by the antiferromagnetic fluctuations in heavy fermion superconductor CeIrIn${}_5$
• Ambient-pressure bulk superconductivity deep in the magnetic state of CeRhIn5
• Superconducting gap structure of CeIrIn5 from field-angle-resolved measurements of its specific heat
• Field-angle-resolved anisotropy in superconducting CeCoIn5 using realistic Fermi surfaces
• Heat-Capacity Measurements of Energy-Gap Nodes of the Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeIrIn5 Deep inside the Pressure-Dependent Dome Structure of its Superconducting Phase Diagram
• Superconducting gap structure of the 115's revisited
• Quantum critical quasiparticle scattering within the superconducting state of CeCoIn5
• Heat transport study of field-tuned quantum criticality in CeIrIn5
• Sub-Phases in the Superconducting State of CeIrIn${}_5$ Revealed by Low Temperature $c$-axis Heat Transport
• Universal heat transport in a heavy-fermion superconductor