La substitution studies on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeRh$_2$As$_2$

Abstract

CeRh$_2$As$_2$ has been receiving considerable attention due to its unusual two-phase superconductivity. The superconducting (SC) phase appears at $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ = 0.35 K in an ordered state (phase I) of the Ce-4$f$ moments, which develops below $T_{\mathrm{0}}$ = 0.55 K. The microscopic nature of phase I has not been fully established yet. We report a single-crystal study of the effect of La substitution on these low-temperature phases in Ce$_{1-\textit{x}}$La$_\textit{x}$Rh$_2$As$_2$ up to $x$ = 0.1. The lattice parameters increase monotonically with $x$, corresponding to an effective negative pressure of approximately -0.3 GPa for $x$ = 0.1. While the Ce$^{3+}$ local valence state and the non-Fermi-liquid behavior are preserved, the resistivity coherence maximum $T^{*}_{\mathrm{max}}$ $\approx$ 45 K in the pristine sample shifts to lower temperatures with increasing $x$, indicating a suppression of the Kondo energy scale upon lattice expansion. On the other hand, both $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ and $T_{\mathrm{0}}$ are rapidly suppressed to below 0.1 K for $x$ $>$ 0.05. Notably, such a rapid decrease of $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ under moderate negative pressure is unexpected, but is rather consistent with substitution-induced disorder effect which leads to strong pair breaking in unconventional superconductors. The observed fragility of phase I under both pressure and disorder may imply its itinerant origin.