Ambient Pressure Structural Quantum Critical Point in the Phase Diagram of (CaxSr1-x)3Rh4Sn13

The quasiskutterudite superconductor Sr3Rh4Sn13 features a pronounced anomaly in electrical resistivity at T*~138 K. We show that the anomaly is caused by a second-order structural transition, which can be tuned to 0 K by applying physical pressure and chemical pressure via the substitution of Ca fo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2015-03, Vol.114 (9)
Main Authors: Goh, S K, Tompsett, D A, Saines, P J, Chang, H C, Matsumoto, T, Imai, M, Yoshimura, K, Grosche, F M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anomalies
Critical point
Dynamical systems
Dynamics
Phase diagrams
Pressure
Superconductivity
Tuning
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The quasiskutterudite superconductor Sr3Rh4Sn13 features a pronounced anomaly in electrical resistivity at T*~138 K. We show that the anomaly is caused by a second-order structural transition, which can be tuned to 0 K by applying physical pressure and chemical pressure via the substitution of Ca for Sr. A broad superconducting dome is centered around the structural quantum critical point. Detailed analysis of the tuning parameter dependence of T* as well as insights from lattice dynamics calculations strongly support the existence of a structural quantum critical point at ambient pressure when the fraction of Ca is 0.9 (i.e., xc=0.9). This establishes the (CaxSr1-x)3Rh4Sn13 series as an important system for exploring the physics of structural quantum criticality without the need of applying high pressures.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.097002