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E. Bauer, H. Kaldarar, R. Lackner, H. Michor, W. Steiner, E.-W. Scheidt, A. Galatanu, F. Marabelli, T. Wazumi, K. Kumagai, M. Feuerbacher:
"Superconductivity in the complex metallic alloy β-Al₃Mg₂";
Physical Review B, 76 (2007), 014528-1 - 014528-7.

Superconductivity in the complex metallic alloy β-Al₃Mg₂

E. Bauer, H. Kaldarar, R. Lackner, H. Michor, and W. Steiner
Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Wien, A-1040 Wien, Austria

E.-W. Scheidt
Lehrstuhl für Chemische Physik und Materialwissenschaften, Universität Augsburg, D-86159 Augsburg, Germany

A. Galatanu
National Institute for Materials Physics, 77125 Magurele, Romania

F. Marabelli
Physics Department "A. Volta," University of Pavia, I-27100 Pavia, Italy

T. Wazumi and K. Kumagai
Division of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan

M. Feuerbacher
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany


Transport and thermodynamic properties were studied for the complex metallic compound β-Al₃Mg₂, composed of 925 atoms per unit cell. β-Al₃Mg₂ exhibits bulk superconductivity below T_c=0.87 K. An exponential temperature dependence of the specific heat well below T_c indicates BCS-like behavior with a nodeless gap of width Δ_BCS(0)~ 1.5 K. The coherence length is derived as ξ₀=4.85×10⁻⁸ m and the Ginzburg Landau parameter κ_GL~ 13, characterizing β-Al₃Mg₂ as a type II superconductor. Superconductivity in β-Al₃Mg₂ occurs in the absence of inversion symmetry of the crystal. Surprisingly, in spite of the rather complex crystal structure of β-Al₃Mg₂, physical properties turn out to be quite simple.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.014528

http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v76/e014528