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Superconductivity in the non-magnetic state of iron under pressure

Nature volume 412, pages 316–318 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Ferromagnetism and superconductivity are thought to compete in conventional superconductors, although in principle it is possible for any metal to become a superconductor in its non-magnetic state at a sufficiently low temperature. At pressures above 10 GPa, iron is known to transform to a non-magnetic structure1,2 and the possibility of superconductivity in this state has been predicted3,4. Here we report that iron does indeed become superconducting at temperatures below 2 K at pressures between 15 and 30 GPa. The transition to the superconducting state is confirmed by both a drop in resistivity and observation of the Meissner effect.

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Figure 1: Arrangement of sample in the pressure-cell, and the low-temperature experimental curve of the resistance of iron at 25 GPa.
Figure 2: Magnetic-field dependence of the resistance drop of iron for various magnetic fields at 23 GPa.
Figure 3: The temperature dependence of the magnetization of iron under pressure obtained by cooling the sample at a magnetic field of 130 G.
Figure 4: Superconducting phase diagram of iron.

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Acknowledgements

We thank T. C. Kobayashi for stimulating discussion. This work has been supported by a Grant-in-Aid for COE (Center of Excellence) Research and Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan, and also by Core Research for Evolution Science and Technology of the Japan Science and Technology Corporation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Science, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, 560-8531, Osaka, Japan

    Katsuya Shimizu, Tomohiro Kimura, Shigeyuki Furomoto, Keiki Takeda, Kazuyoshi Kontani & Kiichi Amaya

  2. Research Center for Materials Science at Extreme Conditions, Osaka University, Toyonaka, 560-8531, Osaka, Japan

    Katsuya Shimizu & Kiichi Amaya

  3. Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan

    Yoshichika Onuki

Authors
  1. Katsuya Shimizu
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  2. Tomohiro Kimura
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  3. Shigeyuki Furomoto
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  4. Keiki Takeda
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  5. Kazuyoshi Kontani
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  6. Yoshichika Onuki
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  7. Kiichi Amaya
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Correspondence to Katsuya Shimizu.

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Shimizu, K., Kimura, T., Furomoto, S. et al. Superconductivity in the non-magnetic state of iron under pressure. Nature 412, 316–318 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35085536

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