Superconducting state found to exist in magnetic field
1 min read
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute have found that a superconducting state can be created in a particular material in the presence of a magnetic field. Normally, says the team, a magnetic field will destroy superconductivity.
The material under examination – CeCoIn5 – is superconducting at very low temperatures and the superconductivity is destroyed in the presence of magnetic fields in excess of 12Tesla. However, before this happens, a new state of the material is created in strong magnetic fields.
"The observed behaviour was completely unexpected and is certainly not a purely magnetic effect," said Michel Kenzelmann, head of the research team.
The state is also closely linked to the magnetic order and the team believes this may enable direct control of the quantum state linked to superconductivity. In turn, this could have application in quantum computers.
"Even if this particular material will probably not be used, because of the low temperatures and strong magnetic domains required, our experiments show what this kind of control could, in principle, look like," said Simon Gerber, pictured, lead author of the research paper published in Nature Physics.
