Recently, a superconducting (SC) transition from low-field (LF) to high-field (HF) SC states was reported in CeRh2As2, indicating the existence of multiple SC states. It has been theoretically noted that the existence of two Ce sites in the unit cell, the so-called sub-lattice degrees of freedom owing to the local inversion symmetry breaking at the Ce sites, can lead to the appearance of multiple SC phases even under an interaction inducing spin-singlet superconductivity. CeRh2As2 is considered as the first example of multiple SC phases owing to this sub-lattice degree of freedom. However, microscopic information about the SC states has not yet been reported. In this study, we measured the SC spin susceptibility at two crystallographically inequivalent As sites using nuclear magnetic resonance for various magnetic fields. Our experimental results strongly indicate a spin-singlet state in both SC phases. In addition, the antiferromagnetic phase, which appears within the SC phase, only coexists with the LF SC phase; there is no sign of magnetic ordering in the HF SC phase. The present work reveals unique SC properties originating from the locally noncentrosymmetric characteristics.
These findings are published on 19th Apr. 2023 in Phys. Rev. Lett. and the paper was selected as Editors’ Suggestions.
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.166001
Parity transition of spin-singlet superconductivity using sub-lattice degrees of freedom Journal Article
In: Physical Review Letters, vol. 130, pp. 166001 , 2023.
