Polar Kerr Effect from Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in the Heavy-Fermion Superconductor PrOs^sub 4^Sb^sub 12

We present polar Kerr effect measurements of the filled skutterudite superconductor PrOs4Sb12. Simultaneous ac susceptibility measurements allow us to observe the superconducting transition under the influence of heating from the optical beam. A nonzero Kerr angle θK develops below the superconducti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2018-05, Vol.120 (18), p.187004
Main Authors: Levenson-Falk, E M, Schemm, E R, Aoki, Y, Maple, M B, Kapitulnik, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broken symmetry
Phase transitions
Superconductivity
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We present polar Kerr effect measurements of the filled skutterudite superconductor PrOs4Sb12. Simultaneous ac susceptibility measurements allow us to observe the superconducting transition under the influence of heating from the optical beam. A nonzero Kerr angle θK develops below the superconducting transition, saturating at ~300 nrad at low temperatures. This result is repeated across several measurements of multiple samples. By extrapolating the measured θK(T) to zero optical power, we are able to show that the Kerr angle onset temperature in one set of measurements is consistent with the transition to the B phase at TC2. We discuss the possible explanations for this result and its impact on the understanding of multiphase and inhomogeneous superconductivity in PrOs4Sb12.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114