$^{17}$O NMR Measurements on Superconducting Na$_{0.35}$CoO$_{2} \cdot y$H$_{2}$O

TL;DR

This study uses $^{17}$O NMR to investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of superconducting Na$_{0.35}$CoO$_2$·yH$_2$O, revealing decreased spin susceptibility in the superconducting state and evidence of incommensurate fluctuations.

Contribution

First $^{17}$O NMR measurements on this compound showing the relationship between spin fluctuations and superconductivity.

Findings

Decreased $^{17}K_{spin}$ below $T_c$ indicating reduced spin susceptibility.

Scaling of $1/T_1$ at O and Co sites suggests shared spin dynamics.

Development of incommensurate fluctuations below 30 K.

Abstract

An $^{17}$O NMR measurement was performed on nonoriented polycrystalline Na$_{0.35}$CoO$_2 \cdot y$H$_2$O with superconducting (SC) transition temperature $T_\text{c} = 4.6$ K. A weak temperature dependence was observed in the Knight shift at the O site ($^{17}K$). The spin part of $^{17}K$ ($^{17}K_{\rm spin}$) is estimated from the plot of $^{17}K$ against bulk susceptibility $\chi$. The $^{17}K_{\rm spin}$ decreases in the SC state, indicative of the decrease in the in-plane component of the spin susceptibility. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ at the O site $^{17}(1/T_1)$ shows a good scaling with $1/T_1$ at the Co site $^{59}(1/T_1)$. This indicates that the spin fluctuations at the O site originate from the Co spin dynamics. The relationships between $^{17}(1/T_1T)$ and $^{17}K_{\rm spin}$ and between $^{17}(1/T_1T)$ and $^{59}(1/T_1T)$ show the development of incommensurate fluctuations at {\bf q $\sim$ 0} other than {\bf q $=$ 0} below 30 K. A clear indication of ferromagnetic correlations at {\bf q $=$ 0} was not observed from the present $^{17}$O-NMR studies.