Absence of superconductivity in topological metal ScInAu\(_2\)

The Heusler compound ScInAu\(_2\) was previously reported to have a superconducting ground state with a critical temperature of 3.0 K. Recent high throughput calculations have also predicted that the material harbors a topologically non-trivial band structure similar to that reported for beta-PdBi\(...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2020-12
Main Authors: DeStefano, J M, Marciaga, G P, Flahavan, J B, Shah, U S, Elmslie, T A, Meisel, M W, Hamlin, J J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Magnetic properties
Polycrystals
Superconductivity
Ternary systems
Topology
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The Heusler compound ScInAu\(_2\) was previously reported to have a superconducting ground state with a critical temperature of 3.0 K. Recent high throughput calculations have also predicted that the material harbors a topologically non-trivial band structure similar to that reported for beta-PdBi\(_2\). In an effort to explore the interplay between the superconducting and topological properties properties, electrical resistance, magnetization, and x-ray diffraction measurements were performed on polycrystalline ScInAu\(_2\). The data reveal that high-quality polycrystalline samples lack the super-conducting transition present samples that have not been annealed. These results indicate the earlier reported superconductivity is non-intrinsic. Several compounds in the Au-In-Sc ternary phase space (ScAu\(_2\), ScIn\(_3\), and ScInAu\(_2\)) were explored in an attempt to identify the secondary phase responsible for the non-intrinsic superconductivity. The results suggest that elemental In is responsible for the reported superconductivity in ScInAu\(_2\).
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2012.06501