Thermal fluctuations and disorder strongly influence the behaviour of hightemperature superconductors. In particular the vortices play a key role in determining their properties. In this thesis the main focus lies on phase transitions, both in ultra-thin films and in three-dimensional systems, which are driven by vortex fluctuations. The last paper concerns the influence of antiferromagnetism on superconductivity in a simple model. A brief review of these topics is given in the introductory part. The main results are: The phase transition in ultra-thin superconducting/superfluid films is studied within the two-dimensional Coulomb gas model, which is known to have a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition at low vortex densities. We construct the phase diagram from grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations on a continuum, without any restrictions on the vortex density. The dynamical universality classes for vortices in superconductors in zero magnetic field are studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations, with particular attention to the role of screening of the vortex interaction. We construct a formula for the k = 0 helicity modulus directly in terms of the vortex line fluctuations, which can serve as a useful way to detect superconducting coherence in model calculations. A method for simulating vortex lines on a continuum is developed, and used to study the melting of the Abrikosov vortex lattice. We study the critical dynamics for vortices in the presence of columnar defects. The linear resistivity and current-voltage characteristics are calculated in Monte Carlo simulations, and the critical behaviour extracted using finite size scaling. We reconsider the scaling properties as the magnetic field is tilted away from the direction of the columns. The influence of antiferromagnetic correlations on the superconducting properties is studied in a simplified lattice fermion model for superconductivity in the presence of an antiferromagnetic background. We find that the superconducting critical temperature is enhanced by antiferromagnetic order, and that a gap with dx2-y2-wave symmetry is the most stable. / QC 20100512

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Title: Electronic properties and structure of selected rare earth and uranium compounds; influence of impurities Author: Jiří Pospíšil Abstract: This thesis is devoted to studies of influence of impurities and/or chemical varieties on magnetic and superconducting properties of selected metallic materials containing rare earth and uranium. The research generally consisted of the defined preparation of studied materials, detailed composition and structure characterisation, experiments focussed on determination of mutually related magnetic, transport and thermal properties followed by data analysis of relations between material composition/quality and material properties. The technology phase was carried out in two ways - 1) preparation of the best pure materials as possible and 2) controlled doping of pure materials. Three main study cases have been chosen: SmPd2Al3 - the representative of the complex magnetism of the Sm3+ ion, the so far unexplored superconductor YPd2Al3 were selected as the RE materials candidates and the controversial ferromagnetic superconductor UCoGe. The key ingredient of the initial technology phase was the refining the commercially available best element metals to the laboratory best achievable purity grade by the unique Solid State Electrotransport (SSE) method. SSE has been also...

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第22112号 / 理博第4539号 / 新制||理||1652(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 前野 悦輝, 教授 松田 祐司, 教授 石田 憲二 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第22237号 / 理博第4551号 / 新制||理||1654(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 柳瀬 陽一, 教授 川上 則雄, 教授 松田 祐司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第22988号 / 理博第4665号 / 新制||理||1669(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 柳瀬 陽一, 教授 田中 耕一郎, 教授 石田 憲二 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Orientador: Luiz Antonio Barreiro / Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar um método alternativo, conhecido em matéria condensada como método holográfico, cuja origem remonta à conhecida dualidade AdS (Espaço anti-d’Sitter) e CFT (Teoria de Campo Conforme). Esse método é especialmente adaptado para resolução de problemas nos quais as partículas encontram-se fortemente ligadas, e que não permitem um tratamento perturbativo usual. Problemas desse tipo aparecem constantemente em atuais fenômenos da física da matéria condensada, como o caso da supercondutividade em “altas temperaturas”. Assim nessa dissertação é considerado um modelo baseado no método holográfico, no qual são incluidos termos não lineares na lagrangeana de interação eletromagnética, cuja origem vem de teoria de cordas bosônicas. Os resultados indicam que existe a possibilidade de se explicar esses materiais supercondutores com alta temperatura crítica. / Abstract: The objective of this work is to present an alternative method, known in condensed matter as a holographic method, whose origin dates back to the well-known AdS (Space Anti-Space) and CFT (Conformal Field Theory) duality. This method is especially adapted for solving problems in which the particles are tightly bound, and which do not allow a usual perturbative treatment. Problems of this type appear constantly in the current phenomena of condensed matter physics, as in the case of superconductivity in "high temperatures". Thus in this dissertation is considered a model based on the holographic method, in which are included non-linear terms in the Lagrangian of electromagnetic interaction, whose origin comes from the theory of bosonic strings. The results indicate that it is possible to explain these superconducting materials at high critical temperature. / Mestre

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第24399号 / 理博第4898号 / 新制||理||1700(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 石田 憲二, 教授 松田 祐司, 教授 柳瀬 陽一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

URhGe has garnered interest recently as one of the few known ferromagnetic superconductors. The superconductivity in this material appears to arise from magnetic fluctuations rather than phonons, and take a triplet form which is remarkably resistant to field. In this thesis, a number of measurements on the material are presented. Some probe the Fermiology, with strong evidence appearing for a model which as both light open sheets and heavy, small, closed pockets. The open sheets, associated with chains of real-space electron density running along the b axis, dominate the conductivity in most circumstances. Evidence for their existence arises from the general large and non-saturating magnetoresistance, and from the unusual observation of negative temperature coefficient of resistance at high fields. The closed pockets have provided a few Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, but mostly they remain inferred from the high specific heat γ and their role in the magnetism. In order to better probe the superconductivity, a high precision low noise DC resistance measurement bridge was built using a SQUID. Along with conventional measurements, this provides evidence that the two pockets of superconductivity on the phase diagram are the same phase. The re-entrance an be understood simply as a result of magnetic field being a tuning parameter, but also suppressing bulk superconductivity through orbital limiting. The SQUID bridge allowed the detection of domain wall superconductivity linking up these two pockets. The SQUID bridge was also used to study the highly structured superconducting transition in BiPd. This material lacks inversion symmetry in its crystal structure, so is a good candidate for unusual forms of superconductivity. Here again non-bulk superconductivity is considered the most likely cause for the structure. Unusual and distinctive IV curves have been measured, and a simple model of inhomogeneous conductivity channels with different critical currents is proposed as an explanation.