Physical properties of a new cuprate superconductor Pr₂Ba₄Cu₇O_15–δ

We present studies of the thermal, magnetic and electrical transport properties of reduced polycrystalline Pr_2Ba_4Cu_7O_15-\delta (Pr247) showing a superconducting transition at Tc = 10 - 16 K and compare them with those of as-sintered non-superconducting Pr247. The electrical resistivity in the normal state exhibited T2 dependence up to approximately 150 K. A clear specific heat anomaly was observed at Tc for Pr247 reduced in a vacuum for 24 hrs, proving the bulk nature of the superconducting state. By the reduction treatment, the magnetic ordering temperature TN of Pr moments decreased from 16 to 11 K, and the entropy associated with the ordering increased, while the effective paramagnetic moments obtained from the DC magnetic susceptibility varied from 2.72 to 3.13 mB. The sign of Hall coefficient changed from positive to negative with decreasing temperature in the normal state of a superconducting Pr247, while that of as-sintered one was positive down to 5 K. The electrical resistivity under high magnetic fields was found to exhibit T^a dependence (a = 0.08 - 0.4) at low temperatures. A possibility of superconductivity in the so-called CuO double chains is discussed.