skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 10:00 PM ET on Friday, February 6 until 10:00 AM ET on Saturday, February 7 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Title: Large critical fields in superconducting Ti4Ir2O from spin-orbit coupling
The recently synthesized η-carbide-type superconductors exhibit large critical fields. A notable example is Ti4Ir2O, for which the upper critical field strongly violates the Pauli paramagnetic limit, a behavior that is unusual for cubic materials that preserve inversion symmetry. Here, by combining density functional theory (DFT) and analytic modeling, we provide an explanation for this enhanced Pauli limiting field. We show that the nonsymmorphic Fd3m symmetry implies that the electronic states near the X points exhibit strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which leads to a vanishing effective g factor and enables the enhanced Pauli limiting field. Furthermore, our DFT results reveal a Van Hove singularity peak near the X points, accounting for ∼65% of the total density of states (DOS), occurring near the chemical potential. We propose that the strong SOC and enhanced DOS in the vicinity of the X points provide the origin of the observed enhancement of the critical field. This leads to a prediction that the magnetic field will lead to a strongly momentum-dependent gap suppression. The gap due to electronic states away from (near to) the X points will be rapidly (slowly) suppressed by fields.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2323857
PAR ID:
10637128
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Physical Review B
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Physical Review B
Volume:
111
Issue:
18
ISSN:
2469-9950
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Kim, Philip (Ed.)
    Crystalline two-dimensional (2D) superconductors (SCs) with low carrier density are an exciting new class of materials in which electrostatic gating can tune superconductivity, electronic interactions play a prominent role, and electrical transport properties may directly reflect the topology of the Fermi surface. Here, we report the dramatic enhancement of superconductivity with decreasing thickness in semimetallic Td-MoTe2, with critical temperature (Tc) increasing up to 7.6 K for monolayers, a 60-fold increase with respect to the bulk Tc. We show that monolayers possess a similar electronic structure and density of states (DOS) as the bulk, implying that electronic interactions play a strong role in the enhanced superconductivity. Reflecting the low carrier density, the critical temperature, magnetic field, and current density are all tunable by an applied gate voltage. The response to high in-plane magnetic fields is distinct from that of other 2D SCs and reflects the canted spin texture of the electron pockets. 
    more » « less
  2. The strong spin–orbit coupling (SOC) in lead halide perovskites, when inversion symmetry is lifted, has provided opportunities for investigating the Rashba effect in these systems. Moreover, the strong orbital moment, which, in turn, impacts the spin-pair in singlet and triplet electronic states, plays a significant role in enhancing the optoelectronic properties in the presence of external magnetic fields in lead halide perovskites. Here, we investigate the effect of weak magnetic fields (<1 T) on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of [Formula: see text] nanocrystals with and without Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) faults and single crystals of [Formula: see text]. Along with an enhancement in the PL intensity as a function of an external magnetic field, which is observed in both lead bromide perovskites, the PL emission red-shifts in [Formula: see text] nanocrystals. Density-functional theory calculations of the electronic band-edge in [Formula: see text] show almost no change in the energy gap as a function of the external magnetic field. The experimental results, thus, suggest the role of mixing of the triplet and singlet excitonic states under weak magnetic fields. This is further deduced from an enhancement in PL lifetimes as a function of the field in [Formula: see text]. In [Formula: see text], an increase in PL intensity is observed under weak magnetic fields; however, no changes in the peak energy or PL lifetimes are observed. The internal magnetic fields due to SOC are characterized for all three samples and found to be the highest for [Formula: see text] nanocrystals with RP faults. 
    more » « less
  3. We present a new implementation for computing spin–orbit couplings (SOCs) within a time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT) framework in the standard spin-conserving formulation as well in the spin–flip variant (SF-TD-DFT). This approach employs the Breit–Pauli Hamiltonian and Wigner–Eckart’s theorem applied to the reduced one-particle transition density matrices, together with the spin–orbit mean-field treatment of the two-electron contributions. We use a state-interaction procedure and compute the SOC matrix elements using zero-order non-relativistic states. Benchmark calculations using several closed-shell organic molecules, diradicals, and a single-molecule magnet illustrate the efficiency of the SOC protocol. The results for organic molecules (described by standard TD-DFT) show that SOCs are insensitive to the choice of the functional or basis sets, as long as the states of the same characters are compared. In contrast, the SF-TD-DFT results for small diradicals (CH 2 , [Formula: see text], SiH 2 , and [Formula: see text]) show strong functional dependence. The spin-reversal energy barrier in a Fe(III) single-molecule magnet computed using non-collinear SF-TD-DFT (PBE0, ωPBEh/cc-pVDZ) agrees well with the experimental estimate. 
    more » « less
  4. A topological phase transition in high-temperature superconductor FeTe1−xSex, occurring at a critical range of Se concentration x, underlies their intrinsic topological superconductivity and emergence of Majorana states within vortices. However, how Se concentration and distribution determine the electronic states, particularly the presence or absence of Majorana states, in FeTe1−xSex remains unclear. In this study, we combine density functional theory calculations with pz–dxz/yz-based analysis and Wannier-based Hamiltonian analysis to systematically explore the electronic structures of diverse FeTe1−xSex compositions. Our investigation reveals a nonlinear variation of the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) gap between pz and dxz/yz bands in response to the Se concentration x, with the maximum gap occurring at x = 0.5. The pz–pz and dx2−y2–pz interactions are found to be critical for pd band inversion. Furthermore, the distribution of Se significantly modulates the SOC gap, thereby influencing the emergence of Majorana states within local vortices. 
    more » « less
  5. 2D native surface oxides formed on low melting temperature metals such as indium and gallium offer unique opportunities for fabricating high-performance flexible electronics and optoelectronics based on a new class of liquid metal printing (LMP). An inherent property of these Cabrera-Mott 2D oxides is their suboxide nature (e.g., In2O3−x), which leads high mobility LMP semiconductors to exhibit high electron concentrations (ne > 1019 cm−3) limiting electrostatic control. Binary alloying of the molten precursor can produce doped, ternary metal oxides such as In-X-O with enhanced electronic performance and greater bias-stress stability, though this approach demands a deeper understanding of the native oxides of alloys. This work presents an approach for hypoeutectic rapid LMP of crystalline InGaOx (IGO) at ultralow process temperatures (180 °C) beyond the state of the art to fabricate transistors with 10X steeper subthreshold slope and high mobility (≈18 cm2 Vs−1). Detailed characterization of IGO crystallinity, composition, and morphology, as well as measurements of its electronic density of states (DOS), show the impact of Ga-doping and reveal the limits of doping induced amorphization from hypoeutectic precursors. The ultralow process temperatures and compatibility with high-k Al2O3 dielectrics shown here indicate potential for 2D IGO to drive low-power flexible transparent electronics. 
    more » « less