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Abstract:
This work reports on superconductivity in the Heusler compounds Pd2ZrAl
and Pd2HfAl. Magnetisation and resistance measurements were carried out
to verify their superconducting states. The compounds exhibit transition
temperatures of 3.2 K (Zr) and 3.4 K (Hf). From their behaviour in
external magnetic fields, it was determined that both compounds are type
11 superconductors. Similar to the half-metallic ferromagnets, the
superconducting Heusler compounds follow an electron counting scheme
based on theoretical considerations. As found from ab initio
calculations, the superconductivity can be explained by a valence
instability at the L-point, that has been used as design criterion. (C)
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
