Indian physicists say Ti-V alloy's local magnetic fluctuations affect superconductivity

Indian physicist have said that the local magnetic fluctuations, or spin fluctuations, an intrinsic property of Titanium-Vanadium (Ti-V) alloys, influence superconductivity in a way that is more widespread than previously thought.

According to the study, it is the competition between these local magnetic fluctuations and the interaction between electrons and collective excitations, referred to as phonons, which determine the superconductivity.

The researchers investigated the underlying mechanisms responsible for the variation of superconducting temperature threshold TC in Ti-V alloys, which can be used in thermonuclear reactors and measured the temperature and magnetic field dependency of several physical characteristics including resistivity, heat capacity and magnetisation.

The scientists also used a microscopic theoretical technique-called density functional theory-to study the density of states at each energy level available for electrons to occupy.

The study was published in in EPJ B.