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- ItemCalorimetric evidence for two phase transitions in Ba1−xKxFe2As2 with fermion pairing and quadrupling states([London] : Nature Publishing Group UK, 2023) Shipulin, Ilya; Stegani, Nadia; Maccari, Ilaria; Kihou, Kunihiro; Lee, Chul-Ho; Hu, Quanxin; Zheng, Yu; Yang, Fazhi; Li, Yongwei; Yim, Chi-Ming; Hühne, Ruben; Klauss, Hans-Henning; Putti, Marina; Caglieris, Federico; Babaev, Egor; Grinenko, VadimMaterials that break multiple symmetries allow the formation of four-fermion condensates above the superconducting critical temperature (T c). Such states can be stabilized by phase fluctuations. Recently, a fermionic quadrupling condensate that breaks the Z 2 time-reversal symmetry was reported in Ba1−xKxFe2As2. A phase transition to the new state of matter should be accompanied by a specific heat anomaly at the critical temperature where Z 2 time-reversal symmetry is broken (TcZ2>Tc). Here, we report on detecting two anomalies in the specific heat of Ba1−xKxFe2As2 at zero magnetic field. The anomaly at the higher temperature is accompanied by the appearance of a spontaneous Nernst effect, indicating the breakdown of Z 2 symmetry. The second anomaly at the lower temperature coincides with the transition to a zero-resistance state, indicating the onset of superconductivity. Our data provide the first example of the appearance of a specific heat anomaly above the superconducting phase transition associated with the broken time-reversal symmetry due to the formation of the novel fermion order.