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Magnetic pair breaking and local lattice distortion in Cr-containing high-entropy alloy superconductors

Nikita Sharma*, Tirthankar Chakraborty, and Sourav Marik†

  • *Contact author: nsharma_phd23@thapar.edu
  • †Contact author: soumarik@thapar.edu
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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 064803 – Published 4 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ngx6-vxlq

Abstract

High-entropy alloys provide an ideal platform for investigating superconductivity in the presence of extreme chemical disorder, lattice distortion, and magnetic impurity effects. Herein, we report a systematic study of the structural, normal-state, and superconducting-state properties of (TiVTa)0.6Nb0.4−xCrx high-entropy alloys with x=0, 0.05, and 0.20. All compositions crystallize in a single-phase body-centered-cubic structure, with space group Im-3m. Our detailed analysis includes magnetization, resistivity, and specific-heat capacity measurements. The superconducting transition temperature is progressively suppressed from 4.68 to 2.59 K and the upper critical field is decreased from 5.77 to 3.87 T with increasing Cr content in the structure. Heat capacity measurements confirm s-wave weak-coupling superconductivity with a superconducting gap within the BCS limit in all the materials. The suppression of transition temperature follows Abrikosov-Gor'kov behavior, identifying magnetic impurity scattering from Cr as the dominant pair breaking mechanism. First-principles calculation reveals severe local lattice distortion characterized by a large atomic size mismatch δ=5.5% and a substantial average atomic displacement (Δd=0.22Å). The interatomic distance distribution exhibits broadened coordination shells with partially filled gaps between nearest-neighbor shells, reflecting strong deviations from ideal lattice positions while retaining long-range crystalline order.

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Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 064803– Published 4 June, 2026
  • Received 17 February 2026
  • Accepted 6 April 2026
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