# Muon spin rotation study of type-I superconductivity: elemental $\beta-$Sn

## TL;DR

This study uses muon-spin rotation to precisely measure the critical magnetic field and phase diagram of elemental beta-tin, a classic type-I superconductor, revealing detailed thermodynamic and microscopic properties.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the application of $bc$SR technique to accurately determine critical fields and thermodynamic parameters in type-I superconductors, providing detailed phase diagrams and microscopic insights.

## Key findings

- Determined $B_c(0)=30.578(6)$ mT and $T_c=3.717(3)$ K for beta-tin.
- Reconstructed the full $B-T$ phase diagram of beta-tin.
- Obtained superconducting gap $b4=0.59(1)$ meV and heat capacity jump ratio 1.55(2).

## Abstract

The application of the muon-spin rotation/relaxation ($\mu$SR) technique for studying type-I superconductivity is discussed. In the intermediate state, i.e. when a type-I superconducting sample with non-zero demagnetization factor $N$ is separated into normal state and Meissner state (superconducting) domains, the $\mu$SR technique allows to determine with very high precision the value of the thermodynamic critical field $B_{\rm c}$, as well as the volume of the sample in the normal and the superconducting state. Due to the microscopic nature of $\mu$SR technique, the $B_{\rm c}$ values are determined directly via measurements of the internal field inside the normal state domains. No assumptions or introduction of any type of measurement criteria are needed. Experiments performed on a 'classical' type-I superconductor, a cylindrically shaped $\beta-$Sn sample, allowed to reconstruct the full $B-T$ phase diagram. The zero-temperature value of the thermodynamic critical field $B_{\rm c}(0)=30.578(6)$ mT and the transition temperature $T_{\rm c}=3.717(3)$ K were determined and found to be in a good agreement with the literature data. An experimentally obtained demagnetization factor is in very good agreement with theoretical calculations of the demagnetization factor of a finite cylinder. The analysis of $B_{\rm c}(T)$ dependence within the framework of the phenomenological $\alpha-$model allow to obtain the value of the superconducting energy gap $\Delta=0.59(1)$ meV, of the electronic specific heat $\gamma_e=1.781(3)$ ${\rm mJ}/{\rm mol}\; {\rm K}^2$ and of the jump in the heat capacity ${\Delta C(T_c)}/{\gamma T_{\rm c}}=1.55(2)$.