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Durham Physicists discover existence of a new form of superconductivity

(8 March 2013)

Physicists from Durham, the ISIS facility and Oxford have revealed the possible existence of a new form of superconductivity occurring in a molecule-based material, in a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters this week.

Superconductivity is a phase of matter in which a material expels magnetic fields from its interior and electrical current flows with no resistance. The physics of superconductors is described by the Higgs mechanism, recently demonstrated at the LHC, and is therefore of great fundamental importance as well as presenting the possibility of loss-free power transport and efficient energy storage.

Using sub-atomic particles called muons, which are uniquely sensitive probes of magnetism, the researchers have investigated the magnetic and superconducting properties of the material TMTSF2(ClO4), an organic system whose electrons are forced to interact with their neighbours along one-dimensional channels. The resulting physical properties of TMTSF2(ClO4) have intrigued physicists for the last twenty years. Dr Tom Lancaster of Durham University, who carried out the muon measurements explained that "there were conflicting reports of the strength of the quantum mechanical wave function of this superconducting material, which we have resolved through a series of painstaking investigations using our muon techniques."

The research shows that the wave function of TMTSF2(ClO4) appears to be different from that of all previously reported superconductors.

Dr Lancaster said "we classify objects in quantum mechanics by their symmetries: whether they look the same after being moved around in various ways. It appears from our research that, under certain conditions, the wavefunction in TMTSF2(ClO4) might be consistent with a symmetry, known as 'odd frequency', which has never been seen before in a bulk superconducting material".

It is hoped that this research will allow a step towards the discovery of the mechanism behind unconventional superconductivity which is still mysterious and presents a barrier to the use of superconductors in technological applications.

Click here to view the full paper