Low temperature thermal conductivity of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor LaRhSi$_3$

ORAL

Abstract

We report results of low temperature thermalconductivity, $\kappa$, on single crystalline LaRhsi3. This compound crystallizes in tetragonal structure which lacks space- inversion symmetry. It is a moderate type II superconductor with a superconducting transition temperature of $T_c$=2.26 K, an upper critical field of only $H_{c2}=200$~Oe, and a first critical field $H_{c1}=120$~Oe. Immediately below $T_c$, the thermal conductivity has an exponential temperature dependence down to $T=0.4$~K. At low temperature $\kappa$ adopts a quadratic temperature dependence which changes suddenly to a cubic behavior only for fields around $H=H_{c1}$ and then becomes linear at higher fields. The magnetic field dependence of the residual linear term of thermal conductivity suggests an $s-$wave symmetry of the superconducting order parameter.

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Authors

  • C.F. Miclea

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

  • N. Kurita

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

  • C. Putzke

    • Department de Physique, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qu\'ebec H3T 1J4, Canada

  • G. Seyfarth

    • Department de Physique, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine

  • C. Capan

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA

  • A. Bianchi

    • Department de Physique, University of Montreal, Montreal, Qu\'ebec H3T 1J4, Canada

  • Z. Fisk

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA

  • Roman Movshovich

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA