Electronic thermal conductivity and the Wiedemann-Franz law for unconventional superconductors

We use the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity to calculate the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity. The theory is formulated for low temperatures when heat transport is limited by electron scattering from random defects and for superconductors with nodes in the order parameter. We show that certain eigenvalues of the thermal conductivity tensor are universal at low temperature, $k_B T\ll \gamma$, where $\gamma$ is the bandwidth of impurity bound states in the superconducting phase. The components of the electrical and thermal conductivity also obey a Wiedemann-Franz law with the Lorenz ratio, $L(T)=\kappa/\sigma T$, given by the Sommerfeld value of $L_{\!S}=({\pi^2}/{3})(k_B/e)^2$ for $k_BT\ll\gamma$. For intermediate temperatures the Lorenz ratio deviates significantly from $L_{\!S}$, and is strongly dependent on the scattering cross section, and qualitatively different for resonant vs.\ nonresonant scattering. We include comparisons with other theoretical calculations and the thermal conductivity data for the high $T_c$ cuprate and heavy fermion superconductors.Comment: 17 pages, PostScript file compressed and uuencode

Evolution of the Fermi surface of BiTeCl with pressure

We report measurements of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the giant Rashba semiconductor BiTeCl under applied pressures up to ~2.5 GPa. We observe two distinct oscillation frequencies, corresponding to the Rashba-split inner and outer Fermi surfaces. BiTeCl has a conduction band bottom that is split into two sub-bands due to the strong Rashba coupling, resulting in two spin-polarized conduction bands as well as a Dirac point. Our results suggest that the chemical potential lies above this Dirac point, giving rise to two Fermi surfaces. We use a simple two-band model to understand the pressure dependence of our sample parameters. Comparing our results on BiTeCl to previous results on BiTeI, we observe similar trends in both the chemical potential and the Rashba splitting with pressure.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Local suppression of the hidden order phase by impurities in URu2Si2

We consider the effects of impurities on the enigmatic hidden order (HO) state of the heavy-fermion material URu2Si2. In particular, we focus on local effects of Rh impurities as a tool to probe the suppression of the HO state. To study local properties we introduce a lattice free energy, where the time invariant HO order parameter "psi" and local antiferromagnetic (AFM) order parameter M are competing orders. Near each Rh atom the HO order parameter is suppressed, creating a hole in which local AFM order emerges as a result of competition. These local holes are created in the fabric of the HO state like in a Swiss cheese and "filled" with droplets of AFM order. We compare our analysis with recent NMR results on URu2Si2 doped with Rh and find good agreement with the data.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure