UPd2Al3

UPd2 Al3 is a heavy-fermion superconductor with a hexagonal crystal structure and critical temperature
Tc=2.0K that was discovered in 1991.[1] Furthermore, UPd2 Al3 orders antiferromagnetically at TN=14K,
and UPd2 Al3 thus features the unusual behavior that this material, at temperatures below 2K, is
simultaneously superconducting and magnetically ordered.[2] Later experiments demonstrated that
superconductivity in UPd2 Al3 is magnetically mediated,[3] and UPd2 Al3 therefore serves as a prime
example for non-phonon-mediated superconductors.

Contents
Discovery
Metallic state
Superconducting state
References

Discovery
Heavy-fermion superconductivity was discovered already in the late 1970s (with CeCu2 Si2 being the first
example), but the number of heavy-fermion compounds known to superconduct was still very small in the
early 1990s, when Christoph Geibel in the group of Frank Steglich found two closely related heavy-
fermion superconductors, UNi2 Al3 (Tc=1K) and UPd2 Al3 (Tc=2K), which were published in 1991.[4][1]
At that point, the Tc=2.0K of UPd2 Al3 was the highest critical temperature amongst all known heavy-
fermion superconductors, and this record would stand for 10 years until CeCoIn5 was discovered in
2001.[5]

Metallic state
The overall metallic behavior of UPd2 Al3 ,[1] e.g. as deduced from the dc resistivity, is typical for a heavy-
fermion material and can be explained as follows: incoherent Kondo scattering above approximately 80 K
and coherent heavy-fermion state (in a Kondo lattice) at lower temperatures. Upon cooling below 14 K,
UPd2 Al3 orders antiferromagnetically in a commensurate fashion (ordering wave vector (0,0,1/2)) and with
a sizable ordered magnetic moment of approximately 0.85 µB per uranium atom, as determined from
neutron scattering.[6]

The metallic heavy-fermion state is characterized by a strongly enhanced effective mass, which is
connected to a reduced Fermi velocity, which in turn brings about a strongly suppressed transport scattering
rate. Indeed, for UPd2 Al3 optical Drude behavior with an extremely low scattering rate was observed at
microwave frequencies.[7] This is the 'slowest Drude relaxation' observed for any three-dimensional
metallic system so far.

Superconducting state
Superconductivity in UPd2 Al3 has a critical temperature of 2.0K and a critical field around 3T. The critical
field does not show anisotropy despite the hexagonal crystal structure.[8] For heavy-fermion
superconductors it is generally believed that the coupling mechanism cannot be phononic in nature. In
contrast to many other unconventional superconductors, for UPd2 Al3 there actually exists strong
experimental evidence (namely from neutron scattering [3] and tunneling spectroscopy [9]) that
superconductivity is magnetically mediated.

In the first years after the discovery of UPd2 Al3 it was actively discussed whether its superconducting state
can support a Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase, but this suggestion was later refuted.[2]

References
1. Geibel, C.; Schank, C.; Thies, S.; Kitazawa, H.; Bredl, C.D.; Böhm, A.; Rau, M.; Grauel, A.;
Caspary, R.; Helfrich, R.; Ahlheim, U.; Weber, G.; Steglich, F. (1991). "Heavy-fermion
superconductivity at Tc=2K in the antiferromagnet UPd2Al3". Z. Phys. B. 84 (1): 1–2.
Bibcode:1991ZPhyB..84....1G (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991ZPhyB..84....1G).
doi:10.1007/BF01453750 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF01453750).
2. Pfleiderer, C. (2009). "Superconducting phases of f -electron compounds". Reviews of
Modern Physics. 81 (4): 1551–1624. arXiv:0905.2625 (https://arxiv.org/abs/0905.2625).
Bibcode:2009RvMP...81.1551P (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009RvMP...81.1551P).
doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.81.1551 (https://doi.org/10.1103%2FRevModPhys.81.1551).
3. Sato, N.K.; Aso, N.; Miyake, K.; Shiina, R.; Thalmeier, P.; Varelogiannis, G.; Geibel, C.;
Steglich, F.; Fulde, P.; Komatsubara, T. (2001). "Strong coupling between local moments and
superconducting 'heavy' electrons in UPd2Al3". Nature. 410 (6826): 340–343.
doi:10.1038/35066519 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F35066519). PMID 11268203 (https://pub
med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11268203).
4. Geibel, C.; Thies, S.; Kaczorowski, D.; Mehner, A.; Grauel, A.; Seidel, B.; Ahlheim, U.;
Helfrich, R.; Petersen, K.; Bredl, C.D.; Steglich, F. (1991). "A new heavy-fermion
superconductor: UNi2Al3". Z. Phys. B. 83 (3): 305–306. Bibcode:1991ZPhyB..83..305G (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1991ZPhyB..83..305G). doi:10.1007/BF01313397 (https://doi.
org/10.1007%2FBF01313397).
5. Petrovic, C.; Pagliuso, P.G.; Hundley, M.F.; Movshovich, R.; Sarrao, J.L.; Thompson, J.D.;
Fisk, Z.; Monthoux, P. (2001). "Heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCoIn5 at 2.3 K". J.
Phys.: Condens. Matter. 13 (17): L337–L342. arXiv:cond-mat/0103168 (https://arxiv.org/abs/c
ond-mat/0103168). Bibcode:2001JPCM...13L.337P (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001
JPCM...13L.337P). doi:10.1088/0953-8984/13/17/103 (https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0953-898
4%2F13%2F17%2F103).
6. A. Krimmel; P. Fischer; B. Roessli; H. Maletta; C. Geibel; C. Schank; A. Grauel; A. Loidl; F.
Steglich (1992). "Neutron diffraction study of the heavy fermion superconductors
UM2Al3(M=Pd, Ni)". Z. Phys. B. 86 (2): 161–162. Bibcode:1992ZPhyB..86..161K (https://ui.a
dsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992ZPhyB..86..161K). doi:10.1007/BF01313821 (https://doi.org/10.
1007%2FBF01313821).
7. M. Scheffler; M. Dressel; M. Jourdan; H. Adrian (2005). "Extremely slow Drude relaxation of
correlated electrons". Nature. 438 (7071): 1135–1137. Bibcode:2005Natur.438.1135S (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005Natur.438.1135S). doi:10.1038/nature04232 (https://doi.o
rg/10.1038%2Fnature04232). PMID 16372004 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16372004).
8. Sato, N; Sakon, T; Takeda, N; Kamatsubara, T; Geibel, C; Steglich, F (1992). "Anisotropy in a
Heavy Fermion Superconductor - UPd2Al3". J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 61 (1): 32–34.
doi:10.1143/JPSJ.61.32 (https://doi.org/10.1143%2FJPSJ.61.32).
9. Jourdan, M.; Huth, M.; Adrian, H. (1999). "Superconductivity mediated by spin fluctuations in
the heavy-fermion compound UPd2Al3". Nature. 398 (6722): 47–49.
 Bibcode:1999Natur.398...47J (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1999Natur.398...47J).
doi:10.1038/17977 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F17977).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UPd2Al3&oldid=1042029770"

This page was last edited on 2 September 2021, at 21:32 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.