Observation of Two Distinct Superconducting Phases in CeCu 2 Si 2

Abstract

We report the presence of two disconnected superconducting domes in the pressure-temperature phase diagram of partially germanium-substituted CeCu ₂ Si ₂ . The lower density superconducting dome lies on the threshold of antiferromagnetic order, indicating magnetically mediated pairing, whereas the higher density superconducting regime straddles a weakly first-order volume collapse, suggesting a pairing interaction based on spatially extended density fluctuations. Two distinct pairing mechanisms thus appear to operate in the single, wide, superconducting range of stoichiometric CeCu ₂ Si ₂ , both of which might apply more generally to other classes of correlated electron systems.