More Like this

1. Tripling of the superconducting critical current density in BaFe ${}_2$ (As ${}_{1-x}$ P ${}_x$ ) ${}_2$ retained after pressure release

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6668/ae702f  

   Liu, Jiangteng; Lopez, Alex; Slone, Daniel; Ren, Guodong; Liu, Zhaoyu; Idrobo, Juan-Carlos; Chu, Jiun-Haw; Eley, Serena (June 2026, Superconductor Science and Technology)

   Abstract Superconducting performance is tunable not only via chemical modification or defect engineering, but also through external parameters such as pressure, though this method remains less readily accessible. In this work, we study how compression influences vortex dynamics and critical currents in an iron-based superconductor. Specifically, we perform magnetization measurements using an off-the-shelf pressure cell to investigate the effects of hydrostatic pressures up to 1.08 GPa on the magnetic properties of BaFe ${}_2$(As ${}_{0.62}$P ${}_{0.38}$) ${}_2$crystals across a range of temperatures $T$and magnetic fields $H$. Although these pressures minimally affect the superconducting critical temperature, they produce a clear increase in the critical current density $J_{\mathrm{c}}(T,H)$, a pronounced reduction in the rate of thermally activated vortex motion $S(T,H)$, and can change the dominant vortex pinning mechanism. Furthermore, the effects of pressure are irreversible: after pressurization and subsequent release at room temperature, high-density microcracks are observed and the crystals retain their enhanced critical current densities. The second magnetization peak vanishes above 18 K after the pressure cycle, which we attribute to a transition from predominantly $\delta \kappa$pinning to a mixed mechanism of $\delta T_{\mathrm{c}}$and surface pinning. Lastly, a threefold increase in $J_{\mathrm{c}}$, a more than 40% reduction in $S$at 8 K and 0.5 T, and an expanded elastic-creep region were achieved after $1-2$pressure cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential utility of pressure cycling for improving $J_{\mathrm{c}}$, which may offer a simpler alternative compared to approaches such as chemical doping or the introduction of artificial pinning centers. 

   more » « less
2. First-principles electron-phonon interactions and polarons in the parent cuprate ${\mathrm{La}}_2{\mathrm{CuO}}_4$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L012073  

   Chang, Benjamin K; Timrov, Iurii; Park, Jinsoo; Zhou, Jin-Jian; Marzari, Nicola; Bernardi, Marco (March 2025, Physical Review Research)

   Understanding electronic interactions in high-temperature superconductors is an outstanding challenge. In the widely studied cuprate materials, experimental evidence points to strong electron-phonon ( $e$-ph) coupling and broad photoemission spectra. Yet, the microscopic origin of this behavior is not fully understood. Here, we study $e$-ph interactions and polarons in a prototypical parent (undoped) cuprate, ${\mathrm{La}}_2{\mathrm{CuO}}_4$(LCO), by means of first-principles calculations. Leveraging parameter-free Hubbard-corrected density functional theory, we obtain a ground state with the band gap and Cu magnetic moment in nearly exact agreement with experiments. This enables a quantitative characterization of $e$-ph interactions. Our calculations reveal two classes of longitudinal optical (LO) phonons with strong $e$-ph coupling to hole states. These modes consist of bond stretching and bond bending in the Cu-O plane as well as vibrations of apical O atoms. The hole spectral functions, obtained with a cumulant method that can capture strong $e$-ph coupling, exhibit broad quasiparticle peaks with a small spectral weight ( $Z\approx 0.25$) and pronounced LO-phonon sidebands characteristic of polaron effects. Our calculations predict features observed in photoemission spectra, including a 40-meV peak in the $e$-ph coupling distribution function not explained by existing models. These results show that the universal strong $e$-ph coupling found experimentally in doped lanthanum cuprates is also present in the parent compound, and elucidate its microscopic origin. 

   more » « less
3. Enhanced stability and bulk superconducting properties of Ag intercalated Bi _1.6 Pb _0.4 Sr ₂ Ca ₂ Cu ₃ O ${}_{10+\delta }$

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6668/ae5690  

   Gonzalez_Arevalo, D; Do, Huu T; Mark, Alexander C; Rodriguez, David; Zangeneh, Danial; Klie, Robert F; Hemley, Russell J; Man, N K (April 2026, Superconductor Science and Technology)

   Abstract Cuprate high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) have long stood a promising candidates for various applications due to their high critical temperature ( $T_{\mathrm{c}}$) at ambient pressure. Practical limitations such as low bulk critical current densities ( $J_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{B}}$), sample inhomogeneities and chemical instability, however, have hindered their applicability. Increasing ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathrm{c}}$, $J_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{B}}$and the upper critical fields as well as maintaining the chemical stability in cuprates are therefore major goals for these materials science. Here, we characterize the electronic and structural properties of an Ag intercalated ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{1.6}{\mathrm{Pb}}_{0.4}{\mathrm{Sr}}_2{\mathrm{Ca}}_2{\mathrm{Cu}}_3{\mathrm{O}}_{10+\delta }$sample prepared using a novel growth technique. The sample demonstrates enhanced electrical properties that have remained nearly constant over 8 years, while the non-silver Bi-2223 exhibits much degradation in both high- $T_{\mathrm{c}}$fractional phase and superconducting properties. We correlate these bulk electronic properties with structural probes to determine the critical role of Ag in these samples. The enhanced properties of these Ag intercalated cuprates suggest novel synthesis pathways will be key in developing more practical superconductors for applications. 

   more » « less
4. Theory of Josephson scanning microscopy with $s$ -wave tip on unconventional superconducting surface: Application to ${\mathrm{Bi}}_2{\mathrm{Sr}}_2{\mathrm{CaCu}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_{8+\delta }$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.184519  

   Choubey, Peayush; Hirschfeld, P J (November 2024, Physical Review B)

   Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy (JSTM) is a powerful probe of the local superconducting order parameter, but studies have been largely limited to cases where the superconducting sample and superconducting tip both have the same gap symmetry—either s-wave or d-wave. It has been generally assumed that, in an ideal s-to-d JSTM experiment, the critical current would vanish everywhere, as expected for ideal c-axis planar junctions. We show here that this is not the case. Employing first-principlesWannier functions for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ , we develop a scheme to compute the Josephson critical current (Ic) and quasiparticle tunneling current measured by JSTM with subangstrom resolution. We demonstrate that the critical current for tunneling between an s-wave tip and a superconducting cuprate sample has the largest magnitude above O sites and it vanishes above Cu sites. Ic changes sign under π/2 rotation and its average over a unit cell vanishes, as a direct consequence of the d-wave gap symmetry in cuprates. Further, we show that Ic is strongly suppressed in the close vicinity of a Zn-like impurity owing to suppression of the superconducting order parameter. More interestingly, Ic acquires nonvanishing values above the Cu sites near the impurity. The critical current modulations produced by the impurity occur at characteristic wave vectors distinct from the quasiparticle interference (QPI) analog. Furthermore, the quasiparticle tunneling spectra in the JSTM setup shows coherence peaks and impurity-induced resonances shifted by the s-wave tip gap. We discuss the similarities and differences in JSTM observables and conventional STM observables, making specific predictions that can be tested in future JSTM experiments. 

   more » « less
5. Fermi surface reconstruction under pressure in the kagome metal ${\mathrm{CsV}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.205135  

   Phillips, Cole; Shtefiienko, Kyryl; Nguyen, Thinh; Capa_Salinas, Andrea N; Magar, Birendra A; Pokharel, Ganesh; Wilson, Stephen D; Graf, David E; Shrestha, Keshav (November 2024, Physical Review B)

   NA (Ed.)

   This work presents the evolution of the electronic properties of kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5 under pressure. The magnetoresistance under high fields of 43 T showed clear Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) oscillations with multiple frequencies up to 2000 T. With the application of pressure, we observed a sudden change in SdH oscillations with the disappearance of the high-frequency signal near the critical pressure Pc1 ∼ 0.7 GPa. We argue that this change could be due to a reconstruction of the Fermi surface (FS) in CsV3Sb5. To interpret our experimental data, we computed the electronic band structures and FS of CsV3Sb5 using ab initio density functional theory. Our results indicate that both the electronic bands and FS of CsV3Sb5 are highly sensitive to external pressure. The deformation of FS pockets with increasing pressure qualitatively explains our experimental observations. The pressure-driven FS instability in CsV3Sb5 may induce changes in its electronic states, such as superconductivity, charge density wave, nontrivial topology, and more. Therefore, these results are invaluable for gaining insights into these electronic states in CsV3Sb5, as well as in other kagome materials. 

   more » « less