Decoupled superconductivity and tunable quantum critical points in Al-doped CrAs.

Pressure-induced superconductivity in the helical magnet CrAs occurs in close proximity to a T = 0 K antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition, indicating a possible interplay between the two broken symmetries. When CrAs is doped with Al (Al-CrAs), its AFM ordering temperature TN increases from 260 K to 270 K. With applied pressure, TN decreases and extrapolates to zero Kelvin near 4.5 kbar, which is shifted from the projected critical pressure of 9 kbar of undoped CrAs. Evidence for an AFM quantum-critical point (QCP) near 4.5 kbar in Al-CrAs includes a funnel of anomalously enhanced electron scattering emerging at low temperatures from the critical pressure and a non-Fermi liquid resistivity. Pressure-induced superconductivity, in contrast, is almost independent of Al doping and forms a dome with essentially the identical maximum Tc and same optimal pressure of 9 kbar as in pure CrAs. The clear separation between the AFM QCP and Tc maximum in Al-CrAs suggests that the attractive Cooper-pair interactions are not directly related with AFM quantum fluctuations. This discovery of superconductivity decoupled from tunable quantum critical points constrains interpretations of the nature of superconductivity in CrAs and illustrates subtleties in understanding the interplay between superconductivity and quantum critical point in strongly correlated electron systems.