Abstract: Using numerical simulations, we study the dynamic properties of a superconducting stripe with a perpendicular magnetized ferromagnet on top in the presence of an applied dc current. In the resistive state conventional phase-slip lines are transformed into kinematic vortex-antivortex pairs with special dynamic behavior. In addition, the location of phase slippage in the sample is predetermined by the position of the magnetic dot. Both these effects directly influence the dynamics of the superconducting condensate and lead to periodic oscillations of the voltage across the sample with a frequency tunable both by the applied current and by the magnetization of the magnet. We found that the frequency of the voltage oscillations increases with increasing number of magnetic dots.

Abstract: We show in the case of a superconducting Nb ladder that a mesoscopic superconductor typically exhibits magnetoresistance oscillations whose amplitude and temperature dependence are different from those stemming from the Little-Parks effect. We demonstrate that these large resistance oscillations (as well as the monotonic background on which they are superimposed) are due to current-excited moving vortices, where the applied current in competition with the oscillating Meissner currents imposes or removes the barriers for vortex motion in an increasing magnetic field. Because of the ever present current in transport measurements, this effect should be considered in parallel with the Little-Parks effect in low-critical temperature (T-c) samples, as well as with recently proposed thermal activation of dissipative vortex-antivortex pairs in high-T-c samples.

Abstract: The magnetic flux domains in the intermediate state of type-I superconductors are known to resemble fluid droplets, and their dynamics in applied electric current is often cartooned as a “dripping faucet”. Here we show, using the time-depended Ginzburg-Landau simulations, that microfluidic principles hold also for the determination of the size of the magnetic flux-droplet as a function of the applied current, as well as for the merger or splitting of those droplets in the presence of the nanoengineered obstacles for droplet motion. Differently from fluids, the flux-droplets in superconductors are quantized and dissipative objects, and their pinning/depinning, nucleation, and splitting occur in a discretized form, all traceable in the voltage measured across the sample. At larger applied currents, we demonstrate how obstacles can cause branching of laminar flux streams or their transformation into mobile droplets, as readily observed in experiments.

Abstract: Vortex loops are generated by the inhomogeneous stray field of a magnetic dipole on top of a current-carrying mesoscopic superconductor. Cutting and recombination processes unfold under the applied drive, resulting in periodic voltage oscillations across the sample. We show that a direct and detectable consequence of the cutting and recombination of these vortex loops in the present setup is the onset of vortices at surfaces where they were absent prior to the application of the external current. The nonlinear dynamics of vortex loops is studied within the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory to describe the profound three-dimensional features of their time evolution.

Abstract: A gel consists of a network of particles or molecules formed for example using the sol-gel process, by which a solution transforms into a porous solid. Particles or molecules in a gel are mainly organized on a scaffold that makes up a porous system. Quantized vortices in type-II superconductors mostly form spatially homogeneous ordered or amorphous solids. Here we present high-resolution imaging of the vortex lattice displaying dense vortex clusters separated by sparse or entirely vortex-free regions in beta-Bi2Pd superconductor. We find that the intervortex distance diverges upon decreasing the magnetic field and that vortex lattice images follow a multifractal behavior. These properties, characteristic of gels, establish the presence of a novel vortex distribution, distinctly different from the well-studied disordered and glassy phases observed in high-temperature and conventional superconductors. The observed behavior is caused by a scaffold of one-dimensional structural defects with enhanced stress close to the defects. The vortex gel might often occur in type-II superconductors at low magnetic fields. Such vortex distributions should allow to considerably simplify control over vortex positions and manipulation of quantum vortex states.

Abstract: We present a microscopic study of superconductivity in OsB2 , and discuss the origin and characteristic length
scales of the superconducting state. From first-principles we show that OsB2 is characterized by three different
Fermi sheets, and we prove that this fermiology complies with recent quantum-oscillation experiments. Using the
found microscopic properties, and experimental data from the literature, we employ Ginzburg-Landau relations
to reveal that OsB2 is a distinctly type-I superconductor with a very low Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ—a rare
property among compound materials. We show that the found coherence length and penetration depth corroborate
the measured thermodynamic critical field. Moreover, our calculation of the superconducting gap structure using
anisotropic Eliashberg theory and ab initio calculated electron-phonon interaction as input reveals a single but
anisotropic gap. The calculated gap spectrum is shown to give an excellent account for the unconventional
behavior of the superfluid density of OsB2 measured in experiments as a function of temperature. This reveals
that gap anisotropy can explain such behavior, observed in several compounds, which was previously attributed
solely to a two-gap nature of superconductivity.

Abstract: Two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are an emerging class of atomically-thin superconductors, whose characteristics are highly prone to tailoring by surface functionalization. Here we explore the use of hydrogen adatoms to enhance phonon-mediated superconductivity in MXenes, based on first-principles calculations combined with Eliashberg theory. We first demonstrate the stability of three different structural models of hydrogenated Mo- and W-based MXenes. Particularly high critical temperatures of over 30 K are obtained for hydrogenated Mo2N and W2N. Several mechanisms responsible for the enhanced electron-phonon coupling are uncovered, namely (i) hydrogen-induced changes in the phonon spectrum of the host MXene, (ii) emerging hydrogen-based phonon modes, and (iii) charge transfer from hydrogen to the MXene layer, boosting the density of states at the Fermi level. Finally, we demonstrate that hydrogen adatoms are moreover able to induce superconductivity in MXenes that are not superconducting in pristine form, such as Nb2C.

Abstract: When approaching the atomically thin limit, defects and disorder play an increasingly important role in the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. While defects are generally thought to negatively affect superconductivity in 2D materials, here we demonstrate the contrary in the case of oxygenation of ultrathin tantalum disulfide (TaS2). Our first-principles calculations show that incorporation of oxygen into the TaS2 crystal lattice is energetically favorable and effectively heals sulfur vacancies typically present in these crystals, thus restoring the electronic band structure and the carrier density to the intrinsic characteristics of TaS2. Strikingly, this leads to a strong enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling, by up to 80% in the highly oxygenated limit. Using transport measurements on fresh and aged (oxygenated) few-layer TaS2, we found a marked increase of the superconducting critical temperature (T-c) upon aging, in agreement with our theory, while concurrent electron microscopy and electron-energy loss spectroscopy confirmed the presence of sulfur vacancies in freshly prepared TaS2 and incorporation of oxygen into the crystal lattice with time. Our work thus reveals the mechanism by which certain atomic-scale defects can be beneficial to superconductivity and opens a new route to engineer T-c in ultrathin materials.

Abstract: <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('Two-dimensional materials are known to harbour properties very different from those of their bulk counterparts. Recent years have seen the rise of atomically thin superconductors, with a caveat that superconductivity is strongly depleted unless enhanced by specific substrates, intercalants or adatoms. Surprisingly, the role in superconductivity of electronic states originating from simple free surfaces of two-dimensional materials has remained elusive to date. Here, based on first-principles calculations, anisotropic Eliashberg theory, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that surface states in few-monolayer MgB2 make a major contribution to the superconducting gap spectrum and density of states, clearly distinct from the widely known, bulk-like sigma-and pi-gaps. As a proof of principle, we predict and measure the gap opening on the magnesium-based surface band up to a critical temperature as high as similar to 30 K for merely six monolayers thick MgB2. These findings establish free surfaces as an unavoidable ingredient in understanding and further tailoring of superconductivity in atomically thin materials.'));

Abstract: <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('We present an advanced method to study spin fluctuations in superconductors quantitatively and entirely from first principles. This method can be generally applied to materials where electron-phonon coupling and spin fluctuations coexist. We employ it here to examine the recently synthesized superconductor iron tetraboride (FeB4) with experimental T-c similar to 2.4 K [H. Gou et al., Phys. Rev. Lett, 111, 157002 (2013)]. We prove that FeB4 is particularly prone to ferromagnetic spin fluctuations due to the presence of iron, resulting in a large Stoner interaction strength, I = 1.5 eV, as calculated from first principles. The other important factor is its Fermi surface that consists of three separate sheets, among which two are nested ellipsoids. The resulting susceptibility has a ferromagnetic peak around q = 0, from which we calculated the repulsive interaction between Cooper pair electrons using the random phase approximation. Subsequently, we combined the electron-phonon interaction calculated from first principles with the spin fluctuation interaction in fully anisotropic Eliashberg theory calculations. We show that the resulting superconducting gap spectrum is conventional, yet very strongly depleted due to coupling to the spin fluctuations. The critical temperature decreases from T-c = 41 K, if they are not taken into account, to T-c = 1.7 K, in good agreement with the experimental value.'));