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D Daghero

Publications and source records attributed to D Daghero.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of magnetic impurities in a two-band superconductor: a point-contact study of mn-substituted single crystals.

We present the first results of directional point-contact measurements in Mg1-xMnxB2 single crystals, with x up to 0.015 and bulk Tc down to 13.3 K. The order parameters Deltasigma and Deltapi were obtained by fitting the conductance curves with the two-band Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model. BothDeltapi and Deltasigma decrease with the critical temperature of the junctions TAC, but remain clearly distinct up to the highest Mn content. Once analyzed within the Eliashberg theory, the results indicate that spin-flip scattering is dominant in the sigma band, as also confirmed by first-principles band-structure calculations.

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Phonon dispersion and lifetimes in MgB2.

We measure phonon dispersion and linewidth in a single crystal of MgB2 along the Gamma-A, Gamma-M, and A-L directions using inelastic x-ray scattering. We use density functional theory to compute the effect of both electron-phonon coupling and anharmonicity on the linewidth, obtaining excellent agreement with experiment. Anomalous broadening of the E(2g) phonon mode is found all along Gamma-A. The dominant contribution to the linewidth is always the electron-phonon coupling.

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Direct evidence for two-band superconductivity in MgB2 single crystals from directional point-contact spectroscopy in magnetic fields.

We present the results of the first directional point-contact spectroscopy experiments in high-quality MgB2 single crystals. Because of the directionality of the current injection into the samples, the application of a magnetic field allowed us to separate the contributions of the sigma and pi bands to the total conductance of our point contacts. By using this technique, we were able to obtain the temperature dependency of each gap independent of the other. The consequent, strong reduction of the error on the value of the gap amplitude as a function of temperature allows a stricter test of the predictions of the two-band model for MgB2.

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Josephson effect in MgB(2) break junctions.

We present the first observation of the dc and ac Josephson effect in MgB(2) break junctions. The junctions, obtained at 4.2 K in high-quality, high-density polycrystalline metallic MgB(2) samples, show a nonhysteretic dc Josephson effect. By irradiating the junctions with microwaves we observe clear Shapiro steps spaced by the ideal Delta V value. The temperature dependence of the dc Josephson current and the dependence of the height of the steps on the microwave power are obtained. These results directly prove the existence of pairs with charge 2e in MgB(2) and give evidence of the superconductor-normal metal-superconductor weak link character of these junctions.

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