Thermodynamic study of gap structure and pair-breaking effect by magnetic field in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCu2Si2

TL;DR

This study investigates the superconducting gap structure and pair-breaking effects in CeCu2Si2 through thermodynamic measurements, revealing a multiband full-gap nature and anomalous pair-breaking phenomena near the critical field.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the gap structure and pair-breaking effects in CeCu2Si2, supported by thermodynamic data and microscopic modeling, challenging the nodal superconductor paradigm.

Findings

No evidence for gap nodes from field-angle dependence

Anomalous pair breaking prominent below 0.15 K

Multiband full-gap superconductivity supported by modeling

Abstract

This paper presents the results of specific-heat and magnetization measurements, in particular their field-orientation dependence, on the first discovered heavy-fermion superconductor CeCu$_2$Si$_2$ ($T_{\rm c} \sim 0.6$ K). We discuss the superconducting gap structure and the origin of the anomalous pair-breaking phenomena, leading e.g., to the suppression of the upper critical field $H_{\rm c2}$, found in the high-field region. The data show that the anomalous pair breaking becomes prominent below about 0.15 K in any field direction, but occurs closer to $H_{\rm c2}$ for $H \parallel c$. The presence of this anomaly is confirmed by the fact that the specific-heat and magnetization data satisfy standard thermodynamic relations. Concerning the gap structure, field-angle dependences of the low-temperature specific heat within the $ab$ and $ac$ planes do not show any evidence for gap nodes. From microscopic calculations in the framework of a two-band full-gap model, the power-law-like temperature dependences of $C$ and $1/T_1$, reminiscent of nodal superconductivity, have been reproduced reasonably. These facts further support multiband full-gap superconductivity in CeCu$_2$Si$_2$.