Magnetic and thermal properties of high Tc superconductors

Measurements of the normal state magnetic susceptibility {chi}(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}, Bi{sub 1.8}Pb{sub 0.2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}}, and Bi{sub 2{minus}x}Pb{sub x}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10+{delta}} (x = 0.2 and 0.25) were carried out. All {chi}(T) data show negative curvature below {approximately}2{Tc}. The data for YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} are in excellent agreement with a new calculation of the superconducting fluctuation diamagnetism. From the analysis, we infer s-wave pairing and microscopic parameters are obtained. For {chi}(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}, part of the negative curvature is inferred to arise from the normal state background. We find a strong temperature dependent anisotropy {delta}{chi} {equivalent to} {chi}{sub c} {minus} {chi}{sub ab} and estimate the normal state spin contributions to {chi}(T). The heat capacity C(T) of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} is reported for 0.4 K < T < 400 K in zero and 70 kG magnetic fields. In addition to the feature associated with the onset of the superconductivity at {Tc}, two anomalies in C(T) were observed near 74 K and 330 K, with another possible anomaly near 102 K; the temperatures at which they occur correlate with anomalies in {chi}(T) and ultransonic measurements. The occurrence of the anomaly at {approxmore » equal} 330 K is found to be sample-dependent. The influences of a magnetic field and the thermal and/or magnetic field treatment history dependence of a pellet sample on C(T), the entropy and the influence of superconducting fluctuations on C(T) near {Tc}, and the possible source of the observed intrinsic nonzero {gamma}(0) at low T are discussed.« less