Effect of nonmagnetic and magnetic impurities on the specific heat jump in anisotropic superconductors

Abstract

The specific-heat jump $\ensuremath{\Delta}C$ at a critical temperature ${T}_{c}$ in an anisotropic superconductor containing both potential and spin-flip scatterers is calculated within a weak-coupling mean-field approximation. It is shown that the presence of even a small amount of spin-flip scatterers in the sample leads to a drastic change in the dependence of $\ensuremath{\Delta}C$ on ${T}_{c}$ in a disordered $(d+s)$-wave or a strongly anisotropic $s$-wave superconductor. The implications for experimental tests for the presence of an $s$-wave admixture in the superconducting order parameter of high-${T}_{c}$ superconductors are discussed.