Pairing of weakly correlated electrons in the platinum-based centrosymmetric superconductor SrPt3P

TL;DR

This study investigates the electronic properties of SrPt3P, revealing conventional s-wave superconductivity and weak electron correlations, with comparisons to similar noncentrosymmetric superconductors.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed NMR and magnetometry analysis of SrPt3P, highlighting its conventional superconducting behavior and weakly correlated electrons.

Findings

Evidence of s-wave pairing from Knight shift and relaxation data

Normal-state conduction electrons resemble simple metals

Comparison with noncentrosymmetric superconductors shows similarities

Abstract

We report a study of the normal- and superconducting-state electronic properties of the centrosymmetric compound SrPt3P via 31P nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) and magnetometry investigations. Essential features such as a sharp drop of the Knight shift at T < Tc and an exponential decrease of the NMR spin-lattice relaxation ratio 1/(T1T) below Tc are consistent with an s-wave electron pairing in SrPt3P, although a direct confirmation in the form of a Hebel-Slichter-type peak is lacking. Normal-state NMR data at T < 50 K indicate conventional features of the conduction electrons, typical of simple metals such as lithium or silver. Our data are finally compared with available NMR results for the noncentrosymmetric superconductors LaPt$_3$Si and CePt$_3$Si, which adopt similar crystal structures.