Magnetic Field Induced Density of States in Superconducting MgB$_{2}$: Measurement of Conduction Electron Spin-Susceptibility

TL;DR

This study measures how magnetic fields affect the spin-susceptibility and density of states in superconducting MgB₂, revealing larger-than-expected field-induced effects that challenge existing models.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of conduction electron spin-susceptibility in MgB₂ under magnetic fields, showing unexpected behavior above 0.2 T.

Findings

Gap opens at low fields and closes above 0.2 T

Field-induced susceptibility exceeds theoretical predictions

Density of states is significantly affected by magnetic field

Abstract

The magnetic field dependence of the spin-susceptibility, $\chi_{s}$ was measured in the superconducting state of high purity MgB$_{2}$ fine powders below 1.3 T. $\chi_{s}$ was determined from the intensity of the conduction electron spin resonance spectra at 3.8, 9.4, and 35 GHz. At the lowest magnetic fields (0.14 T), a gap opens in the density of states at the Fermi energy and, accordingly, $\chi_{s}(T)$ is small at low temperatures. Fields above 0.2 T (about 15 % of $H^{c}_{c2}$, the minimum upper critical field), destroy the gap. The field induced $\chi_{s}$ is much larger than expected from current superconductor models of MgB$_{2}$.