Single-gap superconductivity in Mo8Ga41

Sci Rep. 2019 Sep 19;9(1):13552. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-49846-y.

Abstract

In this paper, the potential existence of two-gap superconductivity in Mo8Ga41 is addressed in detail by means of thermodynamic and spectroscopic measurements. A combination of highly sensitive bulk and surface probes, specifically ac-calorimetry and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), are utilized on the same piece of crystal and reveal the presence of only one intrinsic gap in the system featuring strong electron-phonon coupling. Minute traces of additional superconducting phases detected by STS and also in the heat capacity measured in high magnetic fields on a high-quality and seemingly single-phase crystal might mimic the multigap superconductivity of Mo8Ga41 suggested recently in several studies.