Biomedical subjects

N J Curro

Publications and source records attributed to N J Curro.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Nuclear-magnetic-resonance evidence for charge inhomogeneity in stripe ordered La(1.8-x)Eu0.2Sr(x)CuO4.

We report 17O nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) results in the stripe ordered La(1.8-x)Eu0.2Sr(x)CuO4 system. Below a temperature T(q) approximately 80 K, the local electric field gradient and the absolute intensity of the NMR signal of the planar O site exhibit a dramatic decrease. We interpret these results as microscopic evidence for a spatially inhomogeneous charge distribution, where the NMR signal from O sites in the domain walls of the spin density modulation are wiped out due to large hyperfine fields, and the remaining signal arises from the intervening Mott insulating regions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Unconventional superconductivity in PuCoGa5.

In the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, electrons form (Cooper) pairs through an interaction mediated by vibrations in the underlying crystal structure. Like lattice vibrations, antiferromagnetic fluctuations can also produce an attractive interaction creating Cooper pairs, though with spin and angular momentum properties different from those of conventional superconductors. Such interactions have been implicated for two disparate classes of materials--the copper oxides and a set of Ce- and U-based compounds. But because their transition temperatures differ by nearly two orders of magnitude, this raises the question of whether a common pairing mechanism applies. PuCoGa5 has a transition temperature intermediate between those classes and therefore may bridge these extremes. Here we report measurements of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate and Knight shift in PuCoGa5, which demonstrate that it is an unconventional superconductor with properties as expected for antiferromagnetically mediated superconductivity. Scaling of the relaxation rates among all of these materials (a feature not exhibited by their Knight shifts) establishes antiferromagnetic fluctuations as a likely mechanism for their unconventional superconductivity and suggests that related classes of exotic superconductors may yet be discovered.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Superconductivity in diamond.

Diamond is an electrical insulator well known for its exceptional hardness. It also conducts heat even more effectively than copper, and can withstand very high electric fields. With these physical properties, diamond is attractive for electronic applications, particularly when charge carriers are introduced (by chemical doping) into the system. Boron has one less electron than carbon and, because of its small atomic radius, boron is relatively easily incorporated into diamond; as boron acts as a charge acceptor, the resulting diamond is effectively hole-doped. Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond synthesized at high pressure (nearly 100,000 atmospheres) and temperature (2,500-2,800 K). Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and field-dependent resistance measurements show that boron-doped diamond is a bulk, type-II superconductor below the superconducting transition temperature T(c) approximately 4 K; superconductivity survives in a magnetic field up to Hc2(0) > or = 3.5 T. The discovery of superconductivity in diamond-structured carbon suggests that Si and Ge, which also form in the diamond structure, may similarly exhibit superconductivity under the appropriate conditions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Low-frequency spin dynamics in the CeMIn5 materials.

We measure the spin lattice relaxation of the planar In(1) nuclei in the CeMIn5 materials, extract quantitative information about the low energy spin dynamics of the lattice of Ce moments in both CeRhIn5 and CeCoIn5, and identify a crossover in the normal state. Above a temperature T(*) the Ce lattice exhibits "Kondo gas" behavior characterized by local fluctuations of independently screened moments; below T(*) both systems exhibit a "Kondo liquid" regime in which interactions between the local moments contribute to the spin dynamics. Both the antiferromagnetic and superconducting ground states in these systems emerge from the Kondo liquid regime. Our analysis provides strong evidence for quantum criticality in CeCoIn5.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Inhomogeneous low frequency spin dynamics in La(1.65)Eu(0.2)Sr(0.15)CuO(4).

We report Cu and La nuclear magnetic resonance measurements in the title compound that reveal an inhomogeneous glassy behavior of the spin dynamics. A low temperature peak in the La spin lattice relaxation rate and the "wipeout" of Cu intensity both arise from these slow electronic spin fluctuations that reveal a distribution of activation energies. Inhomogeneous slowing of spin fluctuations appears to be a general feature of doped lanthanum cuprate.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Contributions of spin-lattice relaxation to the echo decay of planar Cu in high-temperature superconductors.

Measurement of T2G, the Gaussian component of the spin-echo envelope of planar Cu nuclei in high-temperature superconductors, gives important information about the real part of the Cu electron spin susceptibility. In the traditional picture of the planar Cu echo decay, the internuclear coupling is assumed to remain static with respect to spin-lattice relaxation and mutual exchange fluctuations. In some circumstances, however, this assumption breaks down. We calculate the internuclear corrections arising from spin-lattice relaxation to the conventional theory of T2G and show that T2G can be easily corrected for these effects. We argue that mutual exchanges due to the perpendicular indirect couplings are suppressed in these materials. For YBa2Cu4O8, we find a correction on the order of 10% in T2g and using the corrected values we find that the isotope ration 63T2G/65T2G agrees with theory.

Anisotropy↗

PubMed1998

Double resonance probes for close frequencies.

A new double resonance probe design for NMR experiments for systems with close resonance frequencies is introduced. The design is based on two coupled resonators and was extensively tested on magnetically aligned powders of several high temperature superconductors by performing double resonance experiments between the 65Cu and 63Cu isotopes as well as between transitions of different magnetic quantum number of the same spin. The probe's performance approaches that of a single resonance circuit and it has only 4 variable tuning/matching elements.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy↗