Nodeless superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric Mo$_3$Rh$_2$N superconductor: a $μ$SR study

Abstract

The noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo$_3$Rh$_2$N, with $T_c = 4.6$ K, adopts a $β$-Mn-type structure (space group $P$4$_1$32), similar to that of Mo$_3$Al$_2$C. Its bulk superconductivity was characterized by magnetization and heat-capacity measurements, while its microscopic electronic properties were investigated by means of muon-spin rotation and relaxation ($μ$SR). The low-temperature superfluid density, measured via transverse-field (TF)-$μ$SR, evidences a fully-gapped superconducting state with $Δ_0 = 1.73 k_\mathrm{B}T_c$, very close to 1.76 $k_\mathrm{B}T_c$ - the BCS gap value for the weak coupling case, and a magnetic penetration depth $λ_0 = 586$ nm. The absence of spontaneous magnetic fields below the onset of superconductivity, as determined by zero-field (ZF)-$μ$SR measurements, hints at a preserved time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting state. Both TF-and ZF-$μ$SR results evidence a spin-singlet pairing in Mo$_3$Rh$_2$N.

5 figures and 5 pages. Accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev. B