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1. Bogoliubov quasiparticle on the gossamer Fermi surface in electron-doped cuprates

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02209-x  

   Xu, Ke-Jun; Guo, Qinda; Hashimoto, Makoto; Li, Zi-Xiang; Chen, Su-Di; He, Junfeng; He, Yu; Li, Cong; Berntsen, Magnus H.; Rotundu, Costel R.; et al (September 2023, Nature Physics)

   Electron-doped cuprates consistently exhibit strong antiferromagnetic correlations, leading to the prevalent belief that antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations mediate Cooper pairing in these unconventional superconductors. However, early investigations showed that although antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations create the largest pseudogap at hot spots in momentum space, the superconducting gap is also maximized at these locations. This presented a paradox for spin-fluctuation-mediated pairing: Cooper pairing is strongest at momenta where the normal-state low-energy spectral weight is most suppressed. Here we investigate this paradox and find evidence that a gossamer—meaning very faint—Fermi surface can provide an explanation for these observations. We study Nd2–xCexCuO4 using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and directly observe the Bogoliubov quasiparticles. First, we resolve the previously observed reconstructed main band and the states gapped by the antiferromagnetic pseudogap around the hot spots. Within the antiferromagnetic pseudogap, we also observe gossamer states with distinct dispersion, from which coherence peaks of Bogoliubov quasiparticles emerge below the superconducting critical temperature. Moreover, the direct observation of a Bogoliubov quasiparticle permits an accurate determination of the superconducting gap, yielding a maximum value an order of magnitude smaller than the pseudogap, establishing the distinct nature of these two gaps. We propose that orientation fluctuations in the antiferromagnetic order parameter are responsible for the gossamer states. 

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2. Superconductivity from energy fluctuations in dilute quantum critical polar metals

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32303-2  

   Volkov, Pavel A.; Chandra, Premala; Coleman, Piers (August 2022, Nature Communications)

   Abstract Superconductivity in low carrier density metals challenges the conventional electron-phonon theory due to the absence of retardation required to overcome Coulomb repulsion. Here we demonstrate that pairing mediated by energy fluctuations, ubiquitously present close to continuous phase transitions, occurs in dilute quantum critical polar metals and results in a dome-like dependence of the superconductingT_con carrier density, characteristic of non-BCS superconductors. In quantum critical polar metals, the Coulomb repulsion is heavily screened, while the critical transverse optical phonons decouple from the electron charge. In the resulting vacuum, long-range attractive interactions emerge from the energy fluctuations of the critical phonons, resembling the gravitational interactions of a chargeless dark matter universe. Our estimates show that this mechanism may explain the critical temperatures observed in doped SrTiO₃. We provide predictions for the enhancement of superconductivity near polar quantum criticality in two- and three-dimensional materials that can be used to test our theory. 

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3. Superconductor–insulator transitions in three-dimensional indium-oxide at high pressures

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/ac48bf  

   Hen, Bar; Shelukhin, Victor; Greenberg, Eran; Rozenberg, Gregory Kh; Kapitulnik, Aharon; Palevski, Alexander (January 2022, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter)

   Abstract Experiments investigating magnetic-field-tuned superconductor–insulator transition (HSIT) mostly focus on two-dimensional material systems where the transition and its proximate ground-state phases, often exhibit features that are seemingly at odds with the expected behavior. Here we present a complementary study of a three-dimensional pressure-packed amorphous indium-oxide (InOx) powder where granularity controls the HSIT. Above a low threshold pressure of ∼0.2 GPa, vestiges of superconductivity are detected, although neither a true superconducting transition nor insulating behavior are observed. Instead, a saturation at very high resistivity at low pressure is followed by saturation at very low resistivity at higher pressure. We identify both as different manifestations of anomalous metallic phases dominated by superconducting fluctuations. By analogy with previous identification of the low resistance saturation as a ‘failed superconductor’, our data suggests that the very high resistance saturation is a manifestation of a ‘failed insulator’. Above a threshold pressure of ∼6 GPa, the sample becomes fully packed, and superconductivity is robust, withT_Ctunable with pressure. A quantum critical point atP_C∼ 25 GPa marks the complete suppression of superconductivity. For a finite pressure belowP_C, a magnetic field is shown to induce a HSIT from a true zero-resistance superconducting state to a weakly insulating behavior. Determining the critical field,H_C, we show that similar to the 2D behavior, the insulating-like state maintains a superconducting character, which is quenched at higher field, above which the magnetoresistance decreases to its fermionic normal state value. 

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4. Unconventional superconducting phase diagram of monolayer ${\mathrm{WTe}}_2$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013224  

   Song, Tiancheng; Jia, Yanyu; Yu, Guo; Tang, Yue; Uzan, Ayelet J; Zheng, Zhaoyi Joy; Guan, Haosen; Onyszczak, Michael; Singha, Ratnadwip; Gui, Xin; et al (February 2025, Physical Review Research)

   The existence of a quantum critical point (QCP) and fluctuations around it are believed to be important for understanding the phase diagram in unconventional superconductors such as cuprates, iron pnictides, and heavy fermion superconductors. However, the QCP is usually buried deep within the superconducting dome and is difficult to investigate. The connection between quantum critical fluctuations and superconductivity remains an outstanding problem in condensed matter. Here combining both electrical transport and Nernst experiments, we explicitly demonstrate the onset of superconductivity at an unconventional QCP in gate-tuned monolayer tungsten ditelluride $\left({\mathrm{WTe}}_2\right)$, with features incompatible with the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer scenario. The results lead to a superconducting phase diagram that is distinguished from other known superconductors. Two distinct gate-tuned quantum phase transitions are observed at the ends of the superconducting dome. We find that quantum fluctuations around the QCP of the underdoped regime are essential for understanding how the monolayer superconductivity is established. The unconventional phase diagram we report here illustrates a previously unknown relation between superconductivity and QCP. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

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5. Ultrafast Nematic Dynamics of FeSe Film

   https://doi.org/10.1364/FIO.2024.JTu5A.14  

   Bartenev, Alexander; Theran, Larry; Rua, Adrian; Verbel, Camilo; Rua, Armando; Lysenko, Sergiy (November 2024, Optica Publishing Group)

   Femtosecond spectroscopy of FeSe film shows distinct transient nematic behavior below and above superconducting critical temperature. Results reveal correlations between photoinduced nematicity, quasiparticle formation, superconducting and pseudogap openings, emphasizing electronic correlations and preformed electron pairing. 

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