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Abstract

The tetragonal heavy-fermion metal YbRh₂Si₂ orders antiferromagnetically at T_N = 70 mK and exhibits an unconventional quantum critical point (QCP) of Kondo-destroying type at B_N = 60 mT, for the magnetic field applied within the basal (a, b) plane. Ultra-low-temperature magnetization and heat-capacity measurements at very low fields indicate that the 4f-electronic antiferromagnetic (AF) order is strongly suppressed by a nuclear-dominated hybrid order (“A-phase”) at T_A ≤ 2.3 mK, such that quantum critical fluctuations develop at B ≈ 0 (Schuberth et al., Science, 2016, 351, 485–488). This enables the onset of heavy-fermion superconductivity (T_c = 2 mK) which appears to be suppressed by the primary antiferromagnetic order at elevated temperatures. Measurements of the Meissner effect reveal bulk superconductivity, with T_c decreasing under applied field to T_c < 1 mK at B > 20 mT. The observation of a weak but distinct superconducting shielding signal at a temperature as high as 10 mK suggests the formation of insulated random islands with emergent A-phase order and superconductivity. Upon cooling, the shielding signal increases almost linearly in temperature, indicating a growth of the islands which eventually percolate at T ≈ 6.5 mK. Recent electrical-resistivity results by Nguyen et al. (Nat. Commun., 2021, 12, 4341) confirm the existence of superconductivity in YbRh₂Si₂ at ultra-low temperatures. The combination of the results of <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B46">Schuberth et al. (2016)</xref> and <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B32">Nguyen et al. (2021)</xref> at ultra-low temperatures below B_N, along with those previously established at higher temperatures in the paramagnetic state, provide compelling evidence that the Kondo-destruction quantum criticality robustly drives unconventional superconductivity.