Measurement of the Fluctuation Heat Capacity of Niobium in a Magnetic Field

Abstract

The heat capacity of niobium at constant magnetic induction has been measured in the immediate neighborhood of $T_c\mathrm{}\left(B\right)\mathrm{}$ with millikelvin temperature resolution. An enhanced heat capacity attributable to fluctuations is observed both above and below $T_c\mathrm{}\left(B\right)\mathrm{}$. The temperature dependence throughout the transition region can be described over a wide temperature range by a universal curve with a temperature scale uniquely determined by measured thermodynamic parameters.