Rare Earth Transition Metal Borocarbides (Nitrides): Superconducting, Magnetic and Normal State Properties (Nato Science Series II: (closed))

The quaternary rare-earth transition-metal borocarbides are a new class of magnetic superconductors, discovered in 1994. The book contains a detailed description of the theoretical approaches used to explain the properties of these systems, with their intriguing array of magnetic and superconducting properties. The borocarbides are located in their context among the other magnetic or superconducting systems, especially the magnetic superconductors, and the book shows how our understanding has grown impressively due to the combination of a wide range of high quality samples and advanced measurement techniques. A number of important aspects nevertheless remain to be investigated, and these are outlined especially in the last part of the book.