Imaging magnetic flux trapping in lanthanum hydride using diamond quantum sensors

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Chen, Yang, Wen, Junyan, He, Ze-Xu, Fan, Jing-Wei, Pan, Xin-Yu, Ji, Cheng, Gou, Huiyang, Yu, Xiaohui, Chen, Liucheng, Liu, Gang-Qin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Chen, Yang
Wen, Junyan
He, Ze-Xu
Fan, Jing-Wei
Pan, Xin-Yu
Ji, Cheng
Gou, Huiyang
Yu, Xiaohui
Chen, Liucheng
Liu, Gang-Qin
author_facet Chen, Yang
Wen, Junyan
He, Ze-Xu
Fan, Jing-Wei
Pan, Xin-Yu
Ji, Cheng
Gou, Huiyang
Yu, Xiaohui
Chen, Liucheng
Liu, Gang-Qin
contents Lanthanum hydride has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its signatures of superconductivity at around 250 K (1, 2). However, the megabar pressures required for synthesize and maintain its state present extraordinary challenges for experiments, particularly in characterizing its Meissner effect (3, 4). The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has emerged as a promising quantum probe to address this problem (5-8), but a gap remains between its working pressure and the pressure required to study the superconducting state of lanthanum hydride (9-12). In this work, using neon gas as the pressure transmitting medium, the working pressure of NV centers is extended to nearly 200 GPa. This quantum probe is then applied to study the Meissner effect of a LaH$_{9.6}$ sample, synthesized by laser heating ammonia borane and lanthanum. A strong magnetic shielding effect is observed, with the transition temperature beginning at around 180 K and completing at 220 K. In addition, magnetic field imaging after field cooling reveals strong flux trapping and significant inhomogeneities within the sample. Our work provides compelling evidence for superconductivity in lanthanum hydride and highlights the importance of spatially resolved techniques in characterizing samples under ultrahigh pressure conditions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_21877
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Imaging magnetic flux trapping in lanthanum hydride using diamond quantum sensors
Chen, Yang
Wen, Junyan
He, Ze-Xu
Fan, Jing-Wei
Pan, Xin-Yu
Ji, Cheng
Gou, Huiyang
Yu, Xiaohui
Chen, Liucheng
Liu, Gang-Qin
Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
Lanthanum hydride has attracted significant attention in recent years due to its signatures of superconductivity at around 250 K (1, 2). However, the megabar pressures required for synthesize and maintain its state present extraordinary challenges for experiments, particularly in characterizing its Meissner effect (3, 4). The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has emerged as a promising quantum probe to address this problem (5-8), but a gap remains between its working pressure and the pressure required to study the superconducting state of lanthanum hydride (9-12). In this work, using neon gas as the pressure transmitting medium, the working pressure of NV centers is extended to nearly 200 GPa. This quantum probe is then applied to study the Meissner effect of a LaH$_{9.6}$ sample, synthesized by laser heating ammonia borane and lanthanum. A strong magnetic shielding effect is observed, with the transition temperature beginning at around 180 K and completing at 220 K. In addition, magnetic field imaging after field cooling reveals strong flux trapping and significant inhomogeneities within the sample. Our work provides compelling evidence for superconductivity in lanthanum hydride and highlights the importance of spatially resolved techniques in characterizing samples under ultrahigh pressure conditions.
title Imaging magnetic flux trapping in lanthanum hydride using diamond quantum sensors
topic Superconductivity
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.21877