Heat capacity, magnetic susceptibility, NMR, and resistivity of SrNi2P2 single crystals are presented, illustrating a purely structural transition at 325 K with no magnetism. Bulk superconductivity is found at 1.4 K. The magnitude of the transition temperature T_c, fits to the heat capacity data, the small upper critical field $H_{c2}$ = 390 Oe, and Ginzburg-Landau parameter $κ$ = 2.1 suggests a conventional fully gapped superconductor. With applied pressure a second structural phase transition occurs which results in an 8% reduction in the c/a ratio of lattice parameters. We find that superconductivity persists into this high pressure phase, although the transition temperature is monotonically suppressed with increasing pressure. Comparison of these Ni-P data as well as layered Fe-As and Ni-As superconductor indicates that reduced dimensionality can be a mechanism for increasing the transition temperature.
The electrical resistivity ρ(T) and heat capacity C(T) on single crystals of SrNi2As2 and EuNi2As2 are reported. While there is no evidence for a structural transition in either compound, SrNi2As2 is found to be a bulk superconductor at T_c=0.62 K with a Sommerfeld coefficient of γ= 8.7 mJ/mol K^2 and a small upper critical field H_{c2} \sim 200 Oe. No superconductivity was found in EuNi2As2 above 0.4 K, but anomalies in ρand C reveal that magnetic order associated with the Eu^{2+} magnetic moments occurs at T_m = 14 K.
We investigated the superconducting gap structure of SrNi$_2$P$_{2}$ ($T_c$=1.4 K) via low-temperature magneto-thermal conductivity $κ(T,H)$ measurements. Zero field thermal conductivity $κ$ decreases exponentially $κ\propto$ exp($-aT_c/T$) with $a$=1.5, in accord with the BCS theory, and rolls over to a phonon-like $κ\propto T^3$ behavior at low temperature, similar to a number of conventional s-wave superconductors. In addition, we observed a "concave" field dependence of the residual linear term $κ_0(H)/T$. These facts strongly rule out the presence of nodes in the superconducting energy ga…
We have performed low-temperature specific heat $C$ and thermal conductivity $κ$ measurements on the Ni-pnictide superconductors BaNi$_2$As$_2$ ($T_\mathrm{c}$=0.7 K and SrNi$_2$P$_2$ ($T_\mathrm{c}$=1.4 K). The temperature dependences $C(T)$ and $κ(T)$ of the two compounds are similar to the results of a number of s-wave superconductors. Furthermore, the concave field responses of the residual $κ$ for BaNi$_2$As$_2$ rules out the presence of nodes on the Fermi surfaces. We postulate that fully gapped superconductivity could be universal for Ni-pnictide superconductors. Specific heat data on B…
We demonstrate the emergence of superconductivity in pseudo-binary silicide SrNixSi2-x. The compound exhibits a structural phase transition from the cubic SrSi2-type structure (P4132) to the hexagonal AlB2-type structure (P6/mmm) upon substituting Ni for Si at approximately x = 0.1. The hexagonal structure is stabilized in the range of 0.1 < x < 0.7. The superconducting phase appears in the vicinity of the structural phase boundary. Ni acts as a nonmagnetic dopant, as confirmed by the Pauli paramagnetic behavior.
The nature of spin-density wave and its relation with superconductivity are crucial issues in the newly discovered Fe-based high temperature superconductors. Particularly it is unclear whether the superconducting phase and spin density wave (SDW) are truly exclusive from each other as suggested by certain experiments. With angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we here report exchange splittings of the band structures in Sr1-xKxFe2As2 (x=0,0.1,0.2), and the non-rigid-band behaviors of the splitting. Our data on single crystalline superconducting samples unambiguously prove that SDW and sup…
We report normal and superconducting properties of the Rashba-type noncentrosymmetric com- pound CaIrSi3, using single crystalline samples with nearly 100% superconducting volume fraction. The electronic density of states revealed by the hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy can be well explained by the relativistic first-principle band calculation. This indicates that strong spin-orbit interaction indeed affects the electronic states of this compound. The obtained H - T phase diagram exhibits only approximately 10% anisotropy, indicating that the superconducting properties are almost three di…
We present superconducting properties of single crystalline Ba(Fe$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ by measuring magnetization, resistivity, upper critical field, Hall coefficient, and magneto-optical images. The magnetization measurements reveal fish-tail hysteresis loop at high temperatures and relatively high critical current density above $J_{c}=10^{5}$ A/cm$^{2}$ at low temperatures. Upper critical field determined by resistive transition is anisotropic with anisotropic parameter $\sim$ 3.5. Hall effect measurements indicate that Ba(Fe$_{0.9}$Co$_{0.1}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is a multiband system…
We report Muon Spin Relaxation studies in weak transverse fields of the superconductivity in the metal cluster compound, Ga$\_{84}$[N(SiMe$\_{3}$)$\_{2}$]$\_{20}$-Li$\_{6}$Br$\_{2}$(thf)$\_{20}\cdot $2toluene. The temperature and field dependence of the muon spin relaxation rate and Knight shift clearly evidence type II bulk superconductivity below $T\_{\text{c}}\approx7.8$ K, with $B\_{\text{c1}}\approx 0.06$ T, $B\_{\text{c2}}\approx 0.26 $ T, $κ\sim 2$ and weak flux pinning. The data are well described by the s-wave BCS model with weak electron-phonon coupling in the clean limit. A qualitat…
The conducting properties of the pressure-induced, layered organic superconductor (BEDT-TTF)_3Cl_2.2H_20 have been studied at 13.5 and 14.0 kbar using low temperatures, high magnetic fields and two-axis rotation. An upper critical field that is significantly larger than that expected from the Pauli paramagnetic limit is observed when the field is applied parallel to the conducting layers. The angle dependent magnetoresistance suggests incoherent transport between the conducting layers at both pressures and the observed negative magnetoresistance at 13.5 kbar can be explained by considering And…
We report both 77Se and 87Rb NMR studies on Tl0.47Rb0.34Fe1.63Se2 single-crystalline superconductors (T_c about 32 K). Singlet superconductivity is decisively determined by a sharp drop of the Knight shift K(T) below T_c, after subtracting the superconducting diamagnetic effect. However, the Hebel-Slichter coherence peak below T_c is not observed in the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T_1, even with a low in-plane NMR field of 2.6 Tesla. Just above T_c, no evidence of low-energy spin fluctuation is found in the spin-lattice relaxation rate on both the 77Se and the 87Rb sites. Upon warming, howe…
We report on the impact of hydrostatic pressure on the superconductivity of optimally (Indium) doped SnTe which is established to be derived from a topological crystalline insulating phase. Single crystals of Sn1-xInxTe were synthesized by a modified Bridgman method that exhibited maximum superconducting Tc of 4.4 K for x= 0.5. Hydrostatic pressure upto 2.5 GPa was applied on the crystals of Sn0.5In0.5Te and electrical resistivity as a function of temperature and pressure was measured. We observed decrease in onset superconducting transition temperature from 4.4 K to 2.8 K on increasing pressu…
Specific heat $C(T)$ measurements were made on single crystals of the superconducting filled skutterudite series Pr(Os$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_4$Sb$_{12}$ down to 0.6 K. Crystalline electric field fits in the normal state produced parameters which were in agreement with previous measurements. Bulk superconductivity was observed for all values of the Ru concentration $x$ with transition temperatures consistent with previous experiments, confirming a minimum in $T_{c}$ at $x=0.6$. The $C(T)$ data below $T_{c}$ appear to be more consistent with power law behavior for $x=0$ (PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$), and with e…
Superconductors derived from topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators by doping have long been considered to be candidates as topological superconductors. Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$Te is a topological crystalline insulator with mirror symmetry protected surface states on (001), (011) and (111) oriented surfaces. The superconductor (Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$)$_{0.7}$In$_{0.3}$Te is induced by In doping in Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$Te, and is thought to be a topological superconductor. Here we report the first scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurement of the superconducting state as well a…
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the crystalline electric field (CEF) excitations of Ce$^{3+}$ in CeFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$($x=0,0.16$). For nonsuperconducting CeFeAsO, the Ce CEF levels have three magnetic doublets in the paramagnetic state, but these doublets split into six singlets when Fe ions order antiferromagnetically. For superconducting CeFeAsO$_{0.84}$F$_{0.16}$ ($T_c=41$ K), where the static AF order is suppressed, the Ce CEF levels have three magnetic doublets at $\hbarω=0,18.7,58.4$ meV at all temperatures. Careful measurements of the intrinsic linewidth $Γ$ and the peak …
The recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate films has aroused great interest since it provides a new platform to explore the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. However, superconductivity only appears in the thin film form and synthesizing superconducting nickelate films is extremely challenging, limiting the in-depth studies on this compound. Here, we explore the critical parameters in the growth of high quality nickelate films using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We found that stoichiometry is crucial in optimizing the crystalline structure and realizing…
We present a microscopic calculation of the phase diagram of the Ising superconductor NbSe$_{2}$ in presence of both in-plane magnetic field and Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Repulsive interactions lead to two distinct instabilities, in singlet- and triplet- interaction channels. While we recover the previously predicted nodal topological superconducting state in the absence of Rashba SOC at large magnetic field with six pairs of nodes along \(Γ\)-\(M\) lines, a finite Rashba SOC breaks the symmetry that protects these nodes and therefore generally lifts them, resulting in a topologically …
The coupling between superconductivity and othorhombic distortion is studied in vapor-grown FeSe single crystals using high-resolution thermal-expansion measurements. In contrast to the Ba122-based (Ba122) superconductors, we find that superconductivity does not reduce the orthorhombicity below Tc. Instead we find that superconductivity couples strongly to the in-plane area, which explains the large hydrostatic pressure effects. We discuss our results in light of the spinnematic scenario and argue that FeSe has many features quite different from the typical Fe-based superconductors.
Two dimensional (2D) superconducting systems are of great importance to exploring exotic quantum physics. Recent development of fabrication techniques stimulates the studies of high quality single crystalline 2D superconductors, where intrinsic properties give rise to unprecedented physical phenomena. Here we report the observation of Zeeman-type spin-orbit interaction protected superconductivity (Zeeman-protected superconductivity) in 4 monolayer (ML) to 6 ML crystalline Pb films grown on striped incommensurate (SIC) Pb layers on Si(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Anomalous l…
Resistivities of single-crystalline as well as poly-crystalline samples of CeOBiS2 without fluorine doping were measured at temperatures down to 0.13 K, and were compared with those of poly-crystalline LaOBiS2 and PrOBiS2. Both poly-crystalline and single-crystalline CeOBiS2 exhibited zero resistivity below 1.2 K while poly-crystalline LaOBiS2 and PrOBiS2 did not show zero resistivity down to 0.13 K. Superconducting transition temperature of CeOBiS2 was reduced by increasing the applied current density. The superconductivity of CeOBiS2 without chemical doping is likely triggered by the carrier…
We present a detailed study of RNi1-xBi2+-y (R = La-Nd, Sm, Gd-Dy) single crystals by measurements of stoichiometry and temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and electrical resistivity. This series forms with partial Ni occupancy as well as a variable Bi occupancy. For R = Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Dy, the RNi1-xBi2+-y compounds show local-moment like behavior and order antiferromagnetically at low temperatures. Determination of anisotropies as well as antiferromagnetic ordering temperatures for RNi1-xBi2+-y (R = Ce-Nd, Sm, Gd-Dy) have been made. Although crystalline samples from t…
X-ray powder diffraction, magnetic susceptibility $χ(T)$, and electrical resistivity $ρ(T)$ measurements were made on single crystals of the filled skutterudite series Pr(Os$_{1-x}$Ru$_x$)$_4$Sb$_{12}$. One end of the series ($x = 0$) is a heavy fermion superconductor with a superconducting critical temperature $T_{c} = 1.85$ K, while the other end ($x = 1$) is a conventional superconductor with $T_{c} \approx 1$ K. The lattice constant $a$ decreases approximately linearly with increasing Ru concentration $x$. As Ru (Os) is substituted for Os (Ru), $T_{c}$ decreases nearly linearly with substi…
We have synthesized the single-phase polycrystalline samples of Sn1-xAgxTe, Ag-doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe, with a range of x = 0-0.5 using a high-pressure synthesis method. The crystal structure of Sn1-xAgxTe at room temperature is a cubic NaCl-type structure, which does not vary upon Ag substitution. Bulk superconductivity with a transition temperature of 2.4 K was observed for x = 0.15-0.25, and the optimal Ag content was x = 0.2. The Sn1-xAgxTe superconducting phase will be useful for understanding the superconductivity nature and mechanisms of the carrier-doped SnTe syste…
Ambient-pressure-grown LaO$_{0.5}$F$_{0.5}$BiS$_2$ with a superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}\sim$3K possesses a highly anisotropic normal state. By a series of electrical resistivity measurements with a magnetic field direction varying between the crystalline $c$-axis and the $ab$-plane, we present the first datasets displaying the temperature dependence of the out-of-plane upper critical field $H_{c2}^{\perp}(T)$, the in-plane upper critical field $H_{c2}^{\parallel}(T)$, as well as the angular dependence of $H_{c2}$ at fixed temperatures for ambient-pressure-grown LaO$_{0.5}$F$_{0…
Single crystalline FeTe$_{0.61}$Se$_{0.39}$ with a sharp superconducting transition at $T_{\textrm{c}} \sim$ 14 K is synthesized via slow furnace cooling followed by low-temperature annealing. The effect of annealing on the chemical and superconducting inhomogeneities is carefully characterized. We also report resistivity, magnetization, and magneto-optical images of this crystal. Based on the Bean model, critical current density is estimated to exceed $1 \times 10^5$ A/cm$^2$ below 5 K under zero field. Weak fish-tail effect is identified at lower temperatures.
Topological crystalline superconductivity in the locally non-centrosymmetric multilayer superconductors (SCs) is proposed. We study the odd-parity pair-density wave (PDW) state induced by the spin-singlet pairing interaction through the spin-orbit coupling. It is shown that the PDW state is a topological crystalline SC protected by a mirror symmetry, although it is topologically trivial according to the classification based on the standard topological periodic table. The topological property of the mirror subsectors is intuitively explained by adiabatically changing the BdG Hamiltonian. A subs…
A connection between creation of toroidal moments and breaking of the relativistic crystalline group associated to a given crystal, is presented in this paper. Indeed, if magnetoelectric effects exist, the interaction between electrons and elementary magnetic cells appears in such a way that the resulting local polarization and magnetization break the local relativistic crystalline symmetry. Therefore, Goldstone bosons, also associated to toroidal moments, are created and, as a consequence, corresponding toroidal phases in crystals. The list of the Shubnikov groups compatible with this kind of…
We study the intrinsic fully-gapped odd-parity superconducting order in doped nodal-loop materials with a torus-shaped Fermi surface. We show that the mirror symmetry, which protects the nodal loop in the normal state, also protects the superconducting state as a topological crystalline superconductor. As a result, the surfaces preserving the mirror symmetry host gapless Majorana cones. Moreover, for a Weyl loop system (two-fold degenerate at the nodal loop), the surfaces that break the mirror symmetry (those parallel to the bulk nodal loop) contribute a Chern (winding) number to the quasi-two…
We report the evolution of the Zeeman-mediated superconducting phase diagram (PD) in ultra-thin crystalline Al films. Parallel critical field measurements, down to 50 mK, were made across the superconducting tricritical point of films ranging in thickness from 7 ML to 30 ML. The resulting phase boundaries were compared with the quasi-classical theory of a Zeeman-mediated transition between a homogeneous BCS condensate and a spin polarized Fermi liquid. Films thicker than $\sim$20 ML showed good agreement with theory, but thinner films exhibited an anomalous PD that cannot be reconciled within …
In iron-based superconductors, band inversion of $d$- and $p$-orbitals yields Dirac semimetallic states. We theoretically investigate their topological properties in normal and superconducting phases, based on the tight-binding model involving full symmetry of the materials. We demonstrate that a Cooper pair between electrons with $d$- and $p$-orbitals relevant to the band structure yields odd-parity superconductivity. Moreover, we present the typical surface states by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and characterize them by topological invariants defined with crystal symmetry. It is…
We theoretically investigate the crystalline anisotropy of topological phase transitions in phase-controlled planar Josephson junctions (JJs) subject to spin-orbit coupling and in-plane magnetic fields. It is shown how topological superconductivity (TS) is affected by the interplay between the magnetic field and the orientation of the junction with respect to its crystallographic axes. This interplay can be used to electrically tune between different symmetry classes in a controlled fashion and thereby optimize the stability and localization of Majorana bound states in planar Josephson junctio…
We report high-pressure induced superconductivity in boron nanowires (BNWs) with rhombohedral crystal structure. Obviously different from bulk rhombohedral boron, these BNWs show a semiconductor-metal transition at much lower pressure than bulk boron. Also, we found these BNWs become superconductors with Tc=1.5 K at 84 GPa, at the pressure of which bulk boron is still a semiconductor, via in-situ resistance measurements in a diamond anvil cell. With increasing pressure, Tc of the BNWs increases. The occurrence of superconductivity in the BNWs at a pressure as low as 84 GPa probably arises from…
The observation of non-bulk superconductivity with an unexpectedly high onset transition temperature Tc up to ~ 49 K in non-superconducting single crystalline CaFe2As2 upon rare-earth doping has raised interesting questions concerning its origin. Several possibilities including interfacial mechanism have been proposed to account for the unusual observation. In an attempt to differentiate such propositions, we have carried out a systematic compositional and magnetic study on single crystals of nominal (Ca1-xPrx)Fe2As2 with 0 <= x <= 0.13 throughout the solubility range of Pr, which covers both …
Topological nonsymmorphic crystalline superconductivity (TNCS) is an intriguing phase of matter, offering a platform to study the interplay between topology, superconductivity, and nonsymmorphic crystalline symmetries. Interestingly, some of TNCS are classified into $Z_4$ topological phases, which have unique surface states referred to as a Möbius strip or an hourglass, and have not been achieved in symmorphic superconductors. However, material realization of $Z_4$ TNCS has never been known, to the best of our knowledge. Here we propose that the paramagnetic superconducting phase of UCoGe unde…
Topological crystalline insulators represent a new state of matter, in which the electronic transport is governed by mirror-symmetry protected Dirac surface states. Due to the helical spin-polarization of these surface states, the proximity of topological crystalline matter to a nearby superconductor is predicted to induce unconventional superconductivity and thus to host Majorana physics. We report on the preparation and characterization of Nb-based superconducting quantum interference devices patterned on top of topological crystalline insulator SnTe thin films. The SnTe films show weak anti…
Measurements of the London penetration depth and tunneling conductance in single crystals of the recently discovered stoicheometric, iron - based superconductor, CaKFe$_4$As$_4$ (CaK1144) show nodeless, two effective gap superconductivity with a larger gap of about 6-9 meV and a smaller gap of about 1-4 meV. Having a critical temperature, $T_{c,onset}\approx$35.8 K, this material behaves similar to slightly overdoped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ (e.g. $x=$0.54, $T_c \approx$ 34 K)---a known multigap $s_{\pm}$ superconductor. We conclude that the superconducting behavior of stoichiometric CaK11…
Topological crystalline metals/semimetals (TCMs) have stimulated a great research interest, which broaden the classification of topological phases and provide a valuable platform to explore topological superconductivity. Here, we report the discovery of superconductivity and topological features in Pb-intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenide Pb$_{1/3}$TaS$_2$. Systematic measurements indicate that Pb$_{1/3}$TaS$_2$ is a quasi-two-dimensional (q-2D) type-II superconductor ({\em T}$_c \approx$ 2.8 K) with a significantly enhanced anisotropy of upper critical field ($γ_{H_{c2}}$ = $H_{c2}^{ab…
While bulk bismuth (Bi) is a semimetal, we have found clear evidence of superconductivity in a crystalline 72 nm diameter Bi nanowire below 1.3 K. In a parallel magnetic field (H), the residual resistance of the nanowire below Tc displays periodic oscillations with H, and the period corresponds to the superconducting flux quantum. This result provides evidence that the superconductivity comes from the interface shell between Bi and the surface oxide. In a perpendicular H, the resistance in the superconducting state shows Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, a signature of a normal metal. Thes…
We report the characterization of the misfit compound (Pb1-xSnxSe2)1.16(TiSe2)2, in which a [100] rocksalt bilayer of Pb1-xSnxSe, which is a topological crystalline insulator in bulk form, alternates with a double layer of the normally non-superconducting layered transition metal dichalcogenide TiSe2. The x dependence of Tc displays a weak dome-like shape with a maximum Tc of 4.5 K at x = 0.2; there is only a subtle change in Tc corresponding to the expected trivial to topological transition in the Pb1-xSnxSe bi-layer. We present a more detailed characterization of the superconductor at x = 0.…
Solving the Schwinger-Dyson equations, we analyze the pairing of quarks in asymmetric quark matter where quarks have different chemical potentials. We show that in the asymmetric quark matter a crystalline color-superconducting gap opens when the quark coupling is stronger than a critical value. The critical coupling is nonzero, since the infrared divergence is lessened when the momenta of pairing quarks are not opposite. The superconducting gaps and the critical couplings are calculated both at high and intermediate densities.
Topological crystalline insulators in IV-VI compounds host novel topological surface states consisting of multi-valley massless Dirac fermions at low energy. Here we show that strain generically acts as an effective gauge field on these Dirac fermions and creates pseudo-Landau orbitals without breaking time-reversal symmetry. We predict the realization of this phenomenon in IV-VI semiconductor heterostructures, due to a naturally occurring misfit dislocation array at the interface that produces a periodically varying strain field. Remarkably, the zero-energy Landau orbitals form a flat band in…
We present a theory of the high-spin generalization of topological insulators and their doped superconducting states. The higher-spin topological insulators involve a pair of $J=3/2$ bands with opposite parity, and are characterized by their band inversion. The low-energy effective theory reveals that the topological insulators host four different phases characterized by mirror Chern numbers, at which boundaries two different patterns of bulk Dirac points appear. For the carrier-doped case, it is shown that the system may host unique unconventional superconductivity because of its high-spin na…
Bismuth displays puzzling superconducting properties. In its crystalline equilibrium phase, it does not seem to superconduct at accessible low temperatures. However, in the amorphous phase it displays superconductivity at ~ 6 K. Under pressure bismuth has been found to superconduct at Tcs that go from 3.9 K to 8.5 K depending on the phase obtained. So the question is: what electronic or vibrational changes occur that explains this radical transformation in the conducting behavior of this material? In a recent publication we argue that changes in the density of electronic and vibrational states…
We report 31P-NMR and specific heat measurements on an iron (Fe)-based superconductor SrFe2(As0.65P0.35)2 with Tc=26 K, which have revealed the development of antiferromagnetic correlations in the normal state and the unconventional superconductivity(SC) with nodal gap dominated by the gapless low-lying quasiparticle excitations. The results are consistently argued with an unconventional multiband SC state with the gap-size ratio of different bands being significantly large; the large full gaps in s\pm-wave state keep Tc high, whereas a small gap with a nodal-structure causes gapless feature u…
In any context in which color superconductivity arises in nature, it is likely to involve pairing between species of quarks with differing chemical potentials. For suitable values of the differences between chemical potentials, Cooper pairs with nonzero total momentum are favored, as was first realized by Larkin, Ovchinnikov, Fulde and Ferrell (LOFF). Condensates of this sort spontaneously break translational and rotational invariance, leading to gaps which vary periodically in a crystalline pattern. Unlike the original LOFF state, these crystalline quark matter condensates include both spin z…
We present a neutron scattering study of phonons in single crystals of (Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$)$_{1-x}$In$_x$Te with $x=0$ (metallic, but nonsuperconducting) and $x=0.2$ (nonmetallic normal state, but superconducting). We map the phonon dispersions (more completely for $x=0$) and find general consistency with theoretical calculations, except for the transverse and longitudinal optical (TO and LO) modes at the Brillouin zone center. At low temperature, both modes are strongly damped but sit at a finite energy ($\sim4$ meV in both samples), shifting to higher energy at room temperature. These mode…
We report a mechanical point-contact spectroscopy study on the single crystalline NbGe$_2$ with a superconducting transition temperature $T\rm_c$ = 2.0 - 2.1 K. The differential conductance curves at 0.3 K can be well fitted by a single gap s-wave Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model and the temperature dependent gap follows a standard Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer behavior, yielding $Δ_0 \sim$ 0.32 meV and 2$Δ_0$/$k\rm_{B}$$T\rm_{c}$ = 3.62 in the weak coupling limit. In magnetic field, the superconducting gap at 0.3 K keeps constant up to $H_{c1}\sim$150 Oe and gradually decreases until $H_{c2}\sim$35…
Superconducting topological crystalline insulators (TCI) are predicted to host new topological phases protected by crystalline symmetries, but available materials are insufficiently suitable for surface studies. To induce superconductivity at the surface of a prototypical TCI SnTe, we use molecular beam epitaxy to grow a heterostructure of SnTe and a high-Tc superconductor Fe(Te,Se), utilizing a 'buffer' layer to bridge the large lattice mismatch between SnTe and Fe(Te,Se). Using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we measure a prominent spectral gap on the surface …
The Heavy Fermion state in UPd2Al3 may be approximately described by a dual model where two of the three U- 5f electrons are in a localized state split by the crystalline electric field into two low lying singlets with a splitting energy of about 6 meV. The third 5f electron has itinerant character and forms the Heavy Electron bands. Inelastic neutron scattering and tunneling experiments suggest that magnetic excitons, the collective propagating crystal field excitations of the localized 5f electrons, mediate superconducting (sc) pairing in UPd2Al3. A theory for this novel mechanism is develop…
Cold dense quark matter is in a crystalline color superconducting phase wherever pairing occurs between species of quarks with chemical potentials whose difference δμlies within an appropriate window. If the interaction between quarks is modeled as point-like, this window is rather narrow. We show that when the interaction between quarks is modeled as single-gluon exchange, the window widens by about a factor of ten at accessible densities and by much larger factors at higher density. This striking enhancement reflects the increasingly (1+1)-dimensional nature of the physics at weaker and weak…
Discovery of exotic phases of matter from the topologically non-trivial systems not only makes the research on topological materials more interesting but also enriches our understanding of the fascinating physics of such materials. Pb$_{0.6}$Sn$_{0.4}$Te was recently shown to be a topological crystalline insulator. Here we show that by forming a mesoscopic point-contact using a normal non-superconducting elemental metal on the surface of Pb$_{0.6}$Sn$_{0.4}$Te a novel superconducting phase is created locally in a confined region under the point-contact. This happens while the bulk of the sampl…
Indium substitution turns the topological crystalline insulator (TCI) Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$Te into a possible topological superconductor. To investigate the effect of the indium concentration on the crystal structure and superconducting properties of (Pb$_{0.5}$Sn$_{0.5}$)$_{1-x}$In$_{x}$Te, we have grown high-quality single crystals using a modified floating-zone method, and have performed systematic studies for indium content in the range $0\leq x\leq 0.35$. We find that the single crystals retain the rock salt structure up to the solubility limit of indium ($x\sim0.30$). Experimental depende…
