Experimental studies of superconducting gap structure and quantum fluctuations in novel superconductors and heavy fermion compounds

Abstract

Since its discovery more than a century ago, superconductivity has been at the epicentre of condensed matter physics research. The electron phonon coupling in conventional superconductors, which obeys BCS theory, causes an attractive interaction, resulting in a unique isotropic and fixed sign pairing symmetry ground state. Exotic pairing symmetries are hard to come by in this favourable interaction. While unconventional superconductivity is still a mystery, the potential for novel and exotic coupling symmetries due to the interplay of structural symmetries and Fermi surface (FS) topology makes it a fascinating research issue. In this thesis, we have investigated the magnetic, transport, and microscopic properties of the conventional superconductors HfIrSi, ZrIrSi, and novel superconductors ThCoC$_{2}$, CeIr$_{3}$, primarily through the use of a variety of complementary experimental techniques such as low temperature resistivity, magnetization, heat capacity, and muon spin rotation and relaxation measurements.