More Like this

1. Bulk evidence of anisotropic s-wave pairing with no sign change in the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36273-x  

   Roppongi, M. ; Ishihara, K. ; Tanaka, Y. ; Ogawa, K. ; Okada, K. ; Liu, S. ; Mukasa, K. ; Mizukami, Y. ; Uwatoko, Y. ; Grasset, R. ; et al ( February 2023 , Nature Communications)

   The recently discovered kagome superconductorsAV₃Sb₅(A= K, Rb, Cs) exhibit unusual charge-density-wave (CDW) orders with time-reversal and rotational symmetry breaking. One of the most crucial unresolved issues is identifying the symmetry of the superconductivity that develops inside the CDW phase. Theory predicts a variety of unconventional superconducting symmetries with sign-changing and chiral order parameters. Experimentally, however, superconducting phase information inAV₃Sb₅is still lacking. Here we report the impurity effects in CsV₃Sb₅using electron irradiation as a phase-sensitive probe of superconductivity. Our magnetic penetration depth measurements reveal that with increasing impurities, an anisotropic fully-gapped state changes to an isotropic full-gap state without passing through a nodal state. Furthermore, transport measurements under pressure show that the double superconducting dome in the pressure-temperature phase diagram survives against sufficient impurities. These results support that CsV₃Sb₅is a non-chiral, anisotropics-wave superconductor with no sign change both at ambient and under pressure.

    

   more » « less
2. Possible transport evidence for three-dimensional topological superconductivity in doped β-PdBi2

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48906-7  

   Kolapo, Ayo ; Li, Tingxin ; Hosur, Pavan ; Miller, Jr., John H. ( August 2019 , Scientific Reports)

   Interest in topological states of matter burgeoned over a decade ago with the theoretical prediction and experimental detection of topological insulators, especially in bulk three-dimensional insulators that can be tuned out of it by doping. Their superconducting counterpart, the fully-gapped three-dimensional time-reversal-invariant topological superconductors, have evaded discovery in bulkintrinsic superconductorsso far. The recently discovered topological metalβ-PdBi₂is a unique candidate for tunable bulk topological superconductivity because of its intrinsic superconductivity and spin-orbit-coupling. In this work, we provide experimental transport signatures consistent with fully-gapped 3D time-reversal-invariant topological superconductivity in K-dopedβ-PdBi₂. In particular, we find signatures of odd-parity bulk superconductivity via upper-critical field and magnetization measurements— odd-parity pairing can be argued, given the band structure ofβ-PdBi₂, to result in 3D topological superconductivity. In addition, Andreev spectroscopy reveals surface states protected by time-reversal symmetry which might be possible evidence of Majorana surface states (Majorana cone). Moreover, we find that the undoped bulk system is a trivial superconductor. Thus, we discoverβ-PdBi₂as a unique bulk material that, on doping, can potentially undergo an unprecedented topological quantum phase transition in the superconducting state.

    

   more » « less
3. Two superconducting states with broken time-reversal symmetry in FeSe 1−x S x

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2208276120  

   Matsuura, Kohei ; Roppongi, Masaki ; Qiu, Mingwei ; Sheng, Qi ; Cai, Yipeng ; Yamakawa, Kohtaro ; Guguchia, Zurab ; Day, Ryan P. ; Kojima, Kenji M. ; Damascelli, Andrea ; et al ( May 2023 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Iron-chalcogenide superconductors FeSe_1−xS_xpossess unique electronic properties such as nonmagnetic nematic order and its quantum critical point. The nature of superconductivity with such nematicity is important for understanding the mechanism of unconventional superconductivity. A recent theory suggested the possible emergence of a fundamentally new class of superconductivity with the so-called Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces (BFSs) in this system. However, such an ultranodal pair state requires broken time-reversal symmetry (TRS) in the superconducting state, which has not been observed experimentally. Here, we report muon spin relaxation (μSR) measurements in FeSe_1−xS_xsuperconductors for0≤x≤0.22covering both orthorhombic (nematic) and tetragonal phases. We find that the zero-field muon relaxation rate is enhanced below the superconducting transition temperatureT_cfor all compositions, indicating that the superconducting state breaks TRS both in the nematic and tetragonal phases. Moreover, the transverse-fieldμSR measurements reveal that the superfluid density shows an unexpected and substantial reduction in the tetragonal phase (x>0.17). This implies that a significant fraction of electrons remain unpaired in the zero-temperature limit, which cannot be explained by the known unconventional superconducting states with point or line nodes. The TRS breaking and the suppressed superfluid density in the tetragonal phase, together with the reported enhanced zero-energy excitations, are consistent with the ultranodal pair state with BFSs. The present results reveal two different superconducting states with broken TRS separated by the nematic critical point in FeSe_1−xS_x, which calls for the theory of microscopic origins that account for the relation between nematicity and superconductivity.

    

   more » « less
4. Multicomponent superconducting order parameter in UTe 2

   https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb0272  

   Hayes, I. M. ; Wei, D. S. ; Metz, T. ; Zhang, J. ; Eo, Y. S. ; Ran, S. ; Saha, S. R. ; Collini, J. ; Butch, N. P. ; Agterberg, D. F. ; et al ( July 2021 , Science)

   An unconventional superconducting state was recently discovered in uranium ditelluride (UTe₂), in which spin-triplet superconductivity emerges from the paramagnetic normal state of a heavy-fermion material. The coexistence of magnetic fluctuations and superconductivity, together with the crystal structure of this material, suggests that a distinctive set of symmetries, magnetic properties, and topology underlie the superconducting state. Here, we report observations of a nonzero polar Kerr effect and of two transitions in the specific heat upon entering the superconducting state, which together suggest that the superconductivity in UTe₂is characterized by a two-component order parameter that breaks time-reversal symmetry. These data place constraints on the symmetries of the order parameter and inform the discussion on the presence of topological superconductivity in UTe₂.

    

   more » « less
5. Critical charge fluctuations and emergent coherence in a strongly correlated excitonic insulator

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-021-00351-4  

   Volkov, P. A. ; Ye, Mai ; Lohani, H. ; Feldman, I. ; Kanigel, A. ; Blumberg, G. ( May 2021 , npj Quantum Materials)

   Excitonic insulator is a coherent electronic phase that results from the formation of a macroscopic population of bound particle-hole pairs—excitons. With only a few candidate materials known, the collective excitonic behavior is challenging to observe, being obscured by crystalline lattice effects. Here we use polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to reveal the quadrupolar excitonic mode in the candidate zero-gap semiconductor Ta₂NiSe₅disentangling it from the lattice phonons. The excitonic mode pronouncedly softens close to the phase transition, showing its electronic character, while its coupling to noncritical lattice modes is shown to enhance the transition temperature. On cooling, we observe the gradual emergence of coherent superpositions of band states at the correlated insulator gap edge, with strong departures from mean-field theory predictions. Our results demonstrate the realization of a strongly correlated excitonic state in an equilibrium bulk material.

    

   more » « less