Pressure and linear heat capacity in the superconducting state of thoriated UBe13

TL;DR

This study investigates how uniaxial pressure affects the linear heat capacity in the superconducting state of thoriated UBe13, revealing intrinsic properties and second-order phase transitions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that uniaxial pressure doubles the linear heat capacity term and confirms the second-order nature of phase transitions in this material.

Findings

Linear heat capacity increases by over a factor of two under pressure

No hysteresis or latent heat observed, indicating second-order transitions

Linear term is an intrinsic property of the superconductor

Abstract

Even well below Tc, the heavy-fermion superconductor (U,Th)Be13 has a large linear term in its specific heat. We show that under uniaxial pressure, the linear heat capacity increases in magnitude by more than a factor of two. The change is reversible and suggests that the linear term is an intrinsic property of the material. In addition, we find no evidence of hysteresis or of latent heat in the low-temperature and low-pressure portion of the phase diagram, showing that all transitions in this region are second order.