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Coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the d-band metal ZrZn2

Nature volume 412, pages 58–61 (2001)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 09 August 2001

Abstract

It has generally been believed that, within the context of the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity, the conduction electrons in a metal cannot be both ferromagnetically ordered and superconducting1,2. Even when the superconductivity has been interpreted as arising from magnetic mediation of the paired electrons, it was thought that the superconducting state occurs in the paramagnetic phase3,4. Here we report the observation of superconductivity in the ferromagnetically ordered phase of the d-electron compound ZrZn2. The specific heat anomaly associated with the superconducting transition in this material appears to be absent, and the superconducting state is very sensitive to defects, occurring only in very pure samples. Under hydrostatic pressure superconductivity and ferromagnetism disappear at the same pressure, so the ferromagnetic state appears to be a prerequisite for superconductivity. When combined with the recent observation of superconductivity in UGe2 (ref. 4), our results suggest that metallic ferromagnets may universally become superconducting when the magnetization is small.

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Figure 1: Magnetization curves and crystal structure of ZrZn2.
Figure 2: Evidence of superconductivity in high-purity single crystals of weakly ferromagnetic ZrZn2.
Figure 3: Superconducting phase diagram of ZrZn2.
Figure 4: Pressure dependence of the ferromagnetic ordering temperature TFM and superconducting ordering temperature TSC.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Griffiths for resistivity measurements, P. Pfundstein and V. Ziebat for the microprobe analysis, H. Stalzer for SQUID magnetization measurements below 1 K, and A. D. Huxley, M. B. Maple and G. Müller-Vogt for discussions. Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the FERLIN programme, and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK-EPSRC) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, D-76128, Germany

    C. Pfleiderer, M. Uhlarz, R. Vollmer & H. v. Löhneysen

  2. H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UK

    S. M. Hayden

  3. Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut für Festkörperphysik, Karlsruhe, D-76021, Germany

    H. v. Löhneysen

  4. DRFMC-SPSMS, CEA Grenoble, Grenoble, Cedex 9, F-38054, France

    N. R. Bernhoeft

  5. Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK

    G. G. Lonzarich

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Pfleiderer, C., Uhlarz, M., Hayden, S. et al. Coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the d-band metal ZrZn2. Nature 412, 58–61 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35083531

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