Penetration depth, multiband superconductivity, and absence of muon-induced perturbation in superconducting PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$

TL;DR

This study investigates the superconducting gap structure and muon perturbation effects in PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$, revealing a multiband nature and minimal muon influence, with results from $bc$SR and rf measurements showing complementary insights.

Contribution

It provides evidence for multiband superconductivity in PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ and demonstrates negligible muon-induced perturbation, clarifying discrepancies between different measurement techniques.

Findings

$bc$SR indicates a temperature-independent penetration depth at low T.

rf measurements suggest point nodes in the superconducting gap.

Muon Knight shift shows minimal muon perturbation effects.

Abstract

Transverse-field muon spin rotation ($\mu$SR) experiments in the heavy-fermion superconductor PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ ($T_{c}=1.85$ K) suggest that the superconducting penetration depth $\lambda(T)$ is temperature-independent at low temperatures, consistent with a gapped quasiparticle excitation spectrum. In contrast, radiofrequency (rf) inductive measurements yield a stronger temperature dependence of $\lambda(T)$, indicative of point nodes in the gap. This discrepancy appears to be related to the multiband structure of PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$. Muon Knight shift measurements in PrOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ suggest that the perturbing effect of the muon charge on the neighboring Pr$^{3+}$ crystalline electric field is negligibly small, and therefore is unlikely to cause the difference between the $\mu$SR and rf results.