Pressured-induced superconducting phase with large upper critical field and concomitant enhancement of antiferromagnetic transition in EuTe2

P T Yang; Z Y Liu; K Y Chen; X L Liu; X Zhang; Z H Yu; H Zhang; J P Sun; Y Uwatoko; X L Dong; K Jiang; J P Hu; Y F Guo; B S Wang; J-G Cheng

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30718-5

Pressured-induced superconducting phase with large upper critical field and concomitant enhancement of antiferromagnetic transition in EuTe₂

Nat Commun. 2022 May 27;13(1):2975. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30718-5.

Authors

P T Yang^#^{1

2}, Z Y Liu^#¹, K Y Chen^{1

2}, X L Liu³, X Zhang³, Z H Yu³, H Zhang^{1

2}, J P Sun^{1

2

4}, Y Uwatoko⁵, X L Dong^{1

2

4}, K Jiang^{1

2

4}, J P Hu^{1

2}, Y F Guo⁶, B S Wang^{7

8

9}, J-G Cheng^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
² School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
³ School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, 201210, China.
⁴ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808, China.
⁵ Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8581, Japan.
⁶ School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, 201210, China. [email protected].
⁷ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. [email protected].
⁸ School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. [email protected].
⁹ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808, China. [email protected].
¹⁰ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. [email protected].
¹¹ School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

We report an unusual pressure-induced superconducting state that coexists with an antiferromagnetic ordering of Eu²⁺ moments and shows a large upper critical field comparable to the Pauli paramagnetic limit in EuTe₂. In concomitant with the emergence of superconductivity with T_c ≈ 3-5 K above P_c ≈ 6 GPa, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature T_N(P) experiences a quicker rise with the slope increased dramatically from dT_N/dP = 0.85(14) K/GPa for P ≤ P_c to 3.7(2) K/GPa for P ≥ P_c. Moreover, the superconducting state can survive in the spin-flop state with a net ferromagnetic component of the Eu²⁺ sublattice under moderate magnetic fields μ₀H ≥ 2 T. Our findings establish the pressurized EuTe₂ as a rare magnetic superconductor possessing an intimated interplay between magnetism and superconductivity.