Magnetism and superconductivity in a transition metal compound: Y4Co3

Structure and paramagnetism in weakly correlated Y8Co5

We report the basic physical properties of monoclinic Y8Co5 determined by means of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and specific heat measurements. The crystal structure of Y8Co5 is monoclinic (P2(1)/c) with lattice parameters a = 7.0582(6) Å, b = 7.2894(6) Å, c = 24.2234(19) Å, and β = 102.112(6)° as refined by using synchrotron powder x-ray diffraction data. The compound shows temperature independent paramagnetism with χ0 = 2.1 × 10(-3) emu mol(-1) and Sommerfeld parameter γ = 63 mJ mol(-1) K(-2). The calculated Wilson ratio for Y8Co5, R(W) = 1.4, is close to that expected for a free electron gas R(W) = 1. Low temperature resistivity under high pressure does not reveal superconductivity in this compound down to 1.2 K, up to hydrostatic pressures of 5.56 GPa. Band structure calculations (full-potential linearized augmented plane wave, FP-LAPW) derive the Stoner exchange interaction parameter S = 0.24, excluding magnetic behavior for Y8Co5.

Superconductivity on the border of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism in UGe2

The absence of simple examples of superconductivity adjoining itinerant-electron ferromagnetism in the phase diagram has for many years cast doubt on the validity of conventional models of magnetically mediated superconductivity. On closer examination, however, very few systems have been studied in the extreme conditions of purity, proximity to the ferromagnetic state and very low temperatures required to test the theory definitively. Here we report the observation of superconductivity on the border of ferromagnetism in a pure system, UGe2, which is known to be qualitatively similar to the classic d-electron ferromagnets. The superconductivity that we observe below 1 K, in a limited pressure range on the border of ferromagnetism, seems to arise from the same electrons that produce band magnetism. In this case, superconductivity is most naturally understood in terms of magnetic as opposed to lattice interactions, and by a spin-triplet rather than the spin-singlet pairing normally associated with nearly antiferromagnetic metals.