Quadrupolar effect and rattling motion in heavy fermion superconductor PrOs_4Sb_{12}

TL;DR

This study investigates the elastic properties of PrOs_4Sb_{12}, revealing quadrupolar fluctuations' role in superconductivity and identifying thermally activated rattling motion of off-center Pr atoms that may influence pairing mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the interplay between quadrupolar fluctuations and rattling motion in a heavy fermion superconductor, highlighting their impact on elastic properties and superconductivity.

Findings

Quadrupolar fluctuations contribute to elastic softening near T_C.

Rattling motion of Pr atoms exhibits thermally activated behavior.

Charge fluctuations from rattling may enhance quadrupolar effects.

Abstract

The elastic properties of a filled skutterudite PrOs_4Sb_{12} with a heavy Fermion superconductivity at T_C=1.85 K have been investigated. The elastic softening of (C_{11}-C_{12})/2 and C_{44} with lowering temperature down to T_C indicates that the quadrupolar fluctuation due to the CEF state plays a role for the Cooper paring in superconducting phase of PrOs_4Sb_{12}. A Debye-type dispersion in the elastic constants around 30 K revealed a thermally activated Gamma_{23} rattling due to the off-center Pr-atom motion obeying tau=tau_{0}exp(E/k_{B}T) with an attempt time tau_0=8.8*10^{-11} sec and an activation energy E=168 K. It is remarkable that the charge fluctuation of the off-center motion with Gamma_{23} symmetry may mix with the quadrupolar fluctuation and enhance the elastic softening of (C_{11}-C_{12})/2 just above T_C.