Fluctuation conductivity and vortex state in a superconductor with strong paramagnetic pair breaking

Abstract

The fluctuation conductivity of a moderately clean type II superconductor with strong Pauli paramagnetic pair breaking (PPB) is studied by focusing on the quantum regime at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. First, it is pointed out that, as the PPB effect becomes stronger, the quantum superconducting fluctuation is generally enhanced so that the renormalized Aslamasov-Larkin (AL) fluctuation conductivity tends to vanish upon cooling above the irreversibility line. Furthermore, by examining other [the DOS and the Maki-Thompson (MT)] terms of the fluctuation conductivity, the field dependence of the resulting total conductivity is found to depend significantly on the type of the vortex lattice (or, glass) ordered state at low temperatures where the strong PPB plays important roles. By comparing the present results on the fluctuation conductivity with insulating and negative magnetoresistance behaviors seen upon entering a PPB-induced novel SC phase of iron selenide (FeSe), it is argued that the vortex matter states of the superconducting order parameter in the second lowest $(n=1)$ Landau level are realized in FeSe in the parallel field configuration in high fields and at low temperatures.