Sound wave anomalies in superconducting compounds

Temperature dependence of the elastic constants in the superconducting state is described on the basis of the Ginsburg-Landau theory. This approach shows very general character and allows to describe quantitative renormalization of the elastic constants in the superconducting state for different materials including non-conventional superconductors. Various examples (A-15 compounds, Chevrel compounds, CeRu<Subscript>2</Subscript>, Ba<Subscript>0.63</Subscript>K<Subscript>0.37</Subscript>BiO<Subscript>3</ Subscript>, Yb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Rh<Subscript>4</Subscript>Sn<Subscript>13</Subsc ript>, Ca<Subscript>3</Subscript>Rh<Subscript>4</Subscript>Sn<Subscript>13</Subsc ript>, HfV<Subscript>2</Subscript>, some heavy fermion compounds and Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>RuO<Subscript>4</Subscript>) are given. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2005