Sr2RuO4 has stood as the leading candidate for a spin-triplet superconductor for 26 years1. However, recent NMR experiments have cast doubt on this candidacy2,3 and it is difficult to find a theory ...of superconductivity that is consistent with all experiments. The order parameter symmetry for this material therefore remains an open question. Symmetry-based experiments are needed that can rule out broad classes of possible superconducting order parameters. Here, we use resonant ultrasound spectroscopy to measure the entire symmetry-resolved elastic tensor of Sr2RuO4 through the superconducting transition. We observe a thermodynamic discontinuity in the shear elastic modulus c66, which implies that the superconducting order parameter has two components. A two-component p-wave order parameter, such as px + ipy, naturally satisfies this requirement. As this order parameter appears to have been precluded by recent NMR experiments, we suggest that two other two-component order parameters, namely {dxz,dyz} and {dx2−y2,gxy(x2−y2)}, are now the prime candidates for the order parameter of Sr2RuO4.Ultrasound measurements show that the superconducting order parameter in strontium ruthenate must have two components.
Strontium ruthenate (Sr2RuO4) continues to present an important test of our understanding of unconventional superconductivity, because while its normal-state electronic structure is known with ...precision, its superconductivity remains unexplained. There is evidence that its order parameter is chiral, but reconciling this with recent observations of the spin part of the pairing requires an order parameter that is either finely tuned or implies a new form of pairing. Therefore, a definitive resolution of whether the superconductivity of Sr2RuO4 is chiral is important for the study of superconductivity. Here we report the measurement of zero-field muon spin relaxation—a probe sensitive to weak magnetism—on samples under uniaxial stresses. We observe stress-induced splitting between the onset temperatures of superconductivity and time-reversal symmetry breaking—consistent with the qualitative expectations for a chiral order parameter—and argue that this observation cannot be explained by conventional magnetism. In addition, we report the appearance of bulk magnetic order under higher uniaxial stress, above the critical pressure at which a Lifshitz transition occurs in Sr2RuO4.When strain is applied to strontium ruthenate, superconductivity emerges at a different temperature to the breaking of time-reversal symmetry. This indicates that the superconductivity could have a chiral d-wave order parameter.
Despite the fruitful achievements in the development of hydrogen production catalysts with record-breaking performances, there is still a lack of durable catalysts that could work under large current ...densities (>1000 mA cm
). Here, we investigated the catalytic behaviors of Sr
RuO
bulk single crystals. This crystal has demonstrated remarkable activities under the current density of 1000 mA cm
, which require overpotentials of 182 and 278 mV in 0.5 M H
SO
and 1 M KOH electrolytes, respectively. These materials are stable for 56 days of continuous testing at a high current density of above 1000 mA cm
and then under operating temperatures of 70 °C. The in-situ formation of ferromagnetic Ru clusters at the crystal surface is observed, endowing the single-crystal catalyst with low charge transfer resistance and high wettability for rapid gas bubble removal. These experiments exemplify the potential of designing HER catalysts that work under industrial-scale current density.
Abstract
One of the main developments in unconventional superconductivity in the past two decades has been the discovery that most unconventional superconductors form phase diagrams that also contain ...other strongly correlated states. Many systems of interest are therefore close to more than one instability, and tuning between the resultant ordered phases is the subject of intense research
1
. In recent years, uniaxial pressure applied using piezoelectric-based devices has been shown to be a particularly versatile new method of tuning
2,3
, leading to experiments that have advanced our understanding of the fascinating unconventional superconductor Sr
2
RuO
4
(refs.
4–9
). Here we map out its phase diagram using high-precision measurements of the elastocaloric effect in what we believe to be the first such study including both the normal and the superconducting states. We observe a strong entropy quench on entering the superconducting state, in excellent agreement with a model calculation for pairing at the Van Hove point, and obtain a quantitative estimate of the entropy change associated with entry to a magnetic state that is observed in proximity to the superconductivity. The phase diagram is intriguing both for its similarity to those seen in other families of unconventional superconductors and for extra features unique, so far, to Sr
2
RuO
4
.
When Heisenberg spins interact antiferromagnetically on a triangular lattice and nearest-neighbor interactions dominate, the ground state is 120° antiferromagnetism. In this work, we probe the ...response of this state to lifting the triangular symmetry, through investigation of the triangular antiferromagnet PdCrO2 under uniaxial stress by neutron diffraction and resistivity measurements. The periodicity of the magnetic order is found to change rapidly with applied stress; the rate of change indicates that the magnetic anisotropy is roughly forty times the stress-induced bond length anisotropy. At low stress, the incommensuration period becomes extremely long, on the order of 1000 lattice spacings; no locking of the magnetism to commensurate periodicity is detected. Separately, the magnetic structure is found to undergo a first-order transition at a compressive stress of ∼0.4 GPa, at which the interlayer ordering switches from a double-to a single-q structure.
Abstract
Applying in-plane uniaxial pressure to strongly correlated low-dimensional systems has been shown to tune the electronic structure dramatically. For example, the unconventional ...superconductor Sr
2
RuO
4
can be tuned through a single Van Hove point, resulting in strong enhancement of both
T
c
and
H
c2
. Out-of-plane (
c
axis) uniaxial pressure is expected to tune the quasi-two-dimensional structure even more strongly, by pushing it towards two Van Hove points simultaneously. Here, we achieve a record uniaxial stress of 3.2 GPa along the
c
axis of Sr
2
RuO
4
.
H
c2
increases, as expected for increasing density of states, but unexpectedly
T
c
falls. As a first attempt to explain this result, we present three-dimensional calculations in the weak interaction limit. We find that within the weak-coupling framework there is no single order parameter that can account for the contrasting effects of in-plane versus
c
-axis uniaxial stress, which makes this new result a strong constraint on theories of the superconductivity of Sr
2
RuO
4
.
A key question regarding the unconventional superconductivity of Sr2RuO4 remains whether the order parameter is single- or two-component. Under a hypothesis of two-component superconductivity, ...uniaxial pressure is expected to lift their degeneracy, resulting in a split transition. The most direct and fundamental probe of a split transition is heat capacity. Here, we report measurement of heat capacity of samples subject to large and highly homogeneous uniaxial pressure. We place an upper limit on the heat-capacity signature of any second transition of a few percent of that of the primary superconducting transition. The normalized jump in heat capacity, ΔC/C, grows smoothly as a function of uniaxial pressure, favoring order parameters which are allowed to maximize in the same part of the Brillouin zone as the well-studied van Hove singularity. Thanks to the high precision of our measurements, these findings place stringent constraints on theories of the superconductivity of Sr2RuO4.
The interplay between spin–orbit coupling and structural inversion symmetry breaking in solids has generated much interest due to the nontrivial spin and magnetic textures which can result. Such ...studies are typically focused on systems where large atomic number elements lead to strong spin–orbit coupling, in turn rendering electronic correlations weak. In contrast, here we investigate the temperature-dependent electronic structure of Ca3Ru2O7, a 4d oxide metal for which both correlations and spin–orbit coupling are pronounced and in which octahedral tilts and rotations combine to mediate both global and local inversion symmetry-breaking polar distortions. Our angle-resolved photoemission measurements reveal the destruction of a large hole-like Fermi surface upon cooling through a coupled structural and spin-reorientation transition at 48 K, accompanied by a sudden onset of quasiparticle coherence. We demonstrate how these result from band hybridization mediated by a hidden Rashba-type spin–orbit coupling. This is enabled by the bulk structural distortions and unlocked when the spin reorients perpendicular to the local symmetry-breaking potential at the Ru sites. We argue that the electronic energy gain associated with the band hybridization is actually the key driver for the phase transition, reflecting a delicate interplay between spin–orbit coupling and strong electronic correlations and revealing a route to control magnetic ordering in solids.
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