Electronic structure, superconductivity and magnetism in the Zr-Co system

Abstract

A study of low-temperature specific heat in the Zr-Co crystalline system is presented, the results being analysed with the magnetic properties which have been investigated for ZrCo and ZrCo4. Two regions can be distinguished in the Zr-Co system: a Zr-rich concentration range of compounds which are superconductors and a Co-rich concentration range of compounds which are magnetic. Two slight bumps of the electronic specific heat coefficient gamma are observed. One corresponds to Zr2Co which has a high superconductivity temperature Tcs and a low Debye temperature theta D, and the other corresponds to ZrCo2, whose concentration corresponds nearly to the appearance of ferromagnetism. The ZrCo compound shows an unexplained high gamma value.