Coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the d-band metal ZrZn2

Abstract

It has generally been believed that, within the context of the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity, the conduction electrons in a metal cannot be both ferromagnetically ordered and superconducting1,2. Even when the superconductivity has been interpreted as arising from magnetic mediation of the paired electrons, it was thought that the superconducting state occurs in the paramagnetic phase3,4. Here we report the observation of superconductivity in the ferromagnetically ordered phase of the d-electron compound ZrZn2. The specific heat anomaly associated with the superconducting transition in this material appears to be absent, and the superconducting state is very sensitive to defects, occurring only in very pure samples. Under hydrostatic pressure superconductivity and ferromagnetism disappear at the same pressure, so the ferromagnetic state appears to be a prerequisite for superconductivity. When combined with the recent observation of superconductivity in UGe2 (ref. 4), our results suggest that metallic ferromagnets may universally become superconducting when the magnetization is small.