Comparative study of the specific heat of superconducting and non-superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x

We have measured the specific heat, the electrical resistance and the magnetic susceptibility of YBa2Cu3O7−x in a superconducting (sc) and in a non-superconducting (nsc) version. The latter was obtained by inducing a small loss of oxygen. In the sc sample we find a jump of the specific heat with ΔC=3.6 J mole−1 K−1. Below the maximum nearT c the specific heat of the sc version drops too fast for an electronic effect alone: there is a cross-over from excess to deficiency already at 0.9T c . The specific heat of the nsc version shows a change of slope in the temperature range between 70 and 80 K, which indicates the existence of a second specific heat anomaly, which apparently exists independently of that due to the onset of superconductivity and explains at least partially the premature crossover.