Observation of Two Distinct Superconducting Phases in CeCu ₂ Si ₂

Abstract

We report the presence of two disconnected superconducting domes in the pressure-temperature phase diagram of partially germanium-substituted CeCu2Si2. The lower density superconducting dome lies on the threshold of antiferromagnetic order, indicating magnetically mediated pairing, whereas the higher density superconducting regime straddles a weakly first-order volume collapse, suggesting a pairing interaction based on spatially extended density fluctuations. Two distinct pairing mechanisms thus appear to operate in the single, wide, superconducting range of stoichiometric CeCu2Si2, both of which might apply more generally to other classes of correlated electron systems.