Daily Overview: Today’s highlighted work focuses on the real-space correlation between superconductivity and magnetism in infinite-layer nickelate Nd1−xEuxNiO2 (x = 0.25) films. [1] Scanning SQUID microscopy was used to image the local superfluid density and magnetic structure of an optimally doped sample grown by molecular beam epitaxy on an LSAT substrate, revealing the coexistence of superconductivity and a weak magnetic texture, as well as a highly spatially inhomogeneous superconducting state. Near the superconducting transition, a robust stripe-like superconducting enhancement emerges, accompanied by halo-like defect responses and paramagnetic regions between stripes. These results primarily attribute the anomalous broadening of the superconducting transition to competing magnetic phases and suggest that understanding this stripe-like superconducting enhancement mechanism may provide a new avenue for raising the superconducting temperature of infinite-layer nickelates. arXiv submission processing window: 2026-09-15 00:00 to 2026-09-15 00:00 UTC.
1. Stripe-Like Superconducting Enhancement and Coexisting Magnetic Texture in an Infinite Layer Nickelate
- Relevance Score:
5.2798 - Authors: Ryan Laing, Dung Vu, Jacob Pfund, Wenzheng Wei, Frederick J. Walker, Haiyan Tan, Pavel Volkov, Menka Jain, Charles Ahn, Ilya Sochnikov
- Affiliations: Yale University, University of Connecticut
- Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.15958
- Paper page: Stripe-Like Superconducting Enhancement and Coexisting Magnetic Texture in an Infinite Layer Nickelate
Summary: This work uses scanning SQUID microscopy to investigate the local superfluid density and magnetic structure of an optimally doped infinite-layer nickelate Nd1-xEuxNiO2 (x = 0.25) thin film grown by molecular beam epitaxy on an LSAT substrate. Simultaneous direct-current magnetometry and alternating-current magnetic susceptibility imaging reveal that superconductivity coexists with a weak magnetic texture, and that the superconducting state is highly spatially inhomogeneous: near the superconducting transition, a robust stripe-like enhancement of superconductivity emerges, accompanied by halo-like defect responses and paramagnetic regions between the stripes. These results indicate that competing magnetic phases are the main factor responsible for the anomalous broadening of the superconducting transition in this optimally doped NENO sample; understanding this superconducting enhancement mechanism may provide a route to raising the superconducting temperature of such materials.