High-Pressure Study on the Superconducting Pyrochlore Oxide Cd₂Re₂O₇

Abstract

Superconducting and structural phase transitions in a pyrochlore oxide Cd₂Re₂O₇ are studied under high pressure by x-ray diffraction and electrical resistivity measurements. A rich P-T phase diagram is obtained, which contains at least two phases with the ideal and slightly distorted pyrochlore structures. It is found that the transition between them is suppressed with increasing pressure and finally disappears at a critical pressure P_c=3.5 GPa. Remarkable enhancements in the residual resistivity as well as the coefficient A of the AT² term in the resistivity are found around the critical pressure. Superconductivity is detected only for the phase with the structural distortion.