Observation of the transition between real and complex superconducting order parameter phases in UPt3
Abstract
The heavy fermion superconductor UPt3 provides a rich system for studying the competition between superconductivity and other forms of electronic order because it has an unconventional pairing mechanism, coexistence of anti-ferromagnetism and superconductivity, and two distinct superconducting phases characterized by different order parameter symmetries. We have fabricated Josephson tunnel junctions on the as-grown surfaces of UPt3 single crystals at a series of angles in the basal plane. By measuring their critical current, we map out the magnitude of the superconducting order parameter as a function of k-space direction and temperature. We observe a sharp node in the superconducting gap at 45^o with respect to the a-axis in the high temperature phase and the onset of an out-of-phase component creating a complex order parameter in the low temperature phase.
- Publication:
-
APS March Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- March 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010APS..MARD41008S