Unconventional Pairing States in Heavy-Fermion Superconductors Studied by the NQR/NMR Experiments

Abstract

We review the studies on the unconventional superconducting pairing states and their relevance with magnetism in the f-electron derived heavy-fermion (HF) systems by means of nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) and nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR). These studies have unraveled a rich variety of the phenomena in the ground state of HF systems. In this article, we address an intimate relationship between the onset of strong-coupling superconductivity (SC) and critical magnetic fluctuations emerging in the vicinity of quantum critical point (QCP). Furthermore, we focus on the novel phase diagram of the HF antiferromagnet CeRhIn₅ under pressure which is characterized by the tetracritical point separating the pure antiferromagnetism (AFM) phase, the AFM+SC uniformly coexisting phase, and the paramagnetic SC phase. A comparison is also presented on the AFM+SC uniformly coexisting phase in high-temperature superconductors as the function of carrier doping. As a consequence, we raise a question; Do we need a bosonic glue to pair electrons in these superconductors? Finally, we address a possible origin of the novel SC in the itinerant ferromagnet UGe₂, which is mediated by ferromagnetic spin-density fluctuations relevant with the first-order transition inside the ferromagnetic states.