By analyzing simple models of fermions in lattice potentials we argue that the zero-temperature pairing instability of any ideal band-insulator occurs at a finite momentum. The resulting supersolid state is known as "pair density wave". The pairing momentum at the onset of instability is generally incommensurate as a result of phase-space restrictions and relative strengths of interband and intraband pairing. However, commensurate pairing occurs in the strong-coupling limit and becomes a Cooper-channel analogue of the Halperin-Rice exciton condensation instability in indirect bandgap semiconductors. The exceptional sensitivity of incommensurate pairing to quantum fluctuations can lead to a strongly-correlated insulating regime and a non-BCS transition, even in the case of weak coupling as shown by an exact renormalization group analysis.
Within the framework of a mean-field approach the Mott-Hubbard phase transition is considered in the Hubbard and Falicov-Kimball models for half-filled occupation. It is shown that a static Z_2-field forms an insulator state on the lattice with a double cell, its strength is determined by the Hubbard interaction. An uniform configuration of the Z_2-field corresponds to a gapless spin liquid state, the configuration, at which the lattice with a double cell is formed, corresponds to a gapped fermion liquid, fermions move in this field. Due to the presence of a static field in an insulator state,…
Artificially created two-dimensional (2D) interfaces or structures are ideal for seeking exotic phase transitions due to their highly tunable carrier density and interfacially enhanced many-body interactions. Here, we report the discovery of a metal-insulator transition (MIT) and an emergent gapped phase in the metal-semiconductor interface that is created in 2H-MoTe$_2$ via alkali-metal deposition. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we found that the electron-phonon coupling is strong at the interface as characterized by a clear observation of replica shake-off bands. Such stron…
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…
Among the different platforms to engineer Majorana fermions in one-dimensional topological superconductors, topological insulator nanowires remain a promising option. Threading an odd number of flux quanta through these wires induces an odd number of surface channels, which can then be gapped with proximity induced pairing. Because of the flux and depending on energetics, the phase of this surface pairing may or may not wind around the wire in the form of a vortex. Here we show that for wires with discrete rotational symmetry, this vortex is necessary to produce a fully gapped topological supe…
We investigate states on the surface of strong and weak topological insulators and superconductors that have been gapped by a symmetry breaking term. The surface of a strong 3D topological insulator gapped by a magnetic material is well known to possess a half quantum Hall effect. Furthermore, it has been known that the surface of a weak 3D topological insulator gapped by a charge density wave exhibits a half quantum spin Hall effect. To generalize these results to all Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes of topological insulators and superconductors, we reproduce the classification table for th…
Cooper Pair Insulator phase induced in amorphous Pb$_0.9$Bi$_0.1$ thin films
在一些强无序薄膜系统的超导-绝缘体相变附近出现了库珀对绝缘体（CPI）相。最近的许多研究集中在驱动潜在的库珀对本地化的机制。我们目前的数据显示，CPI相的发展，在非晶Pb $_{0.9}$ Bi $_{0.1}$膜沉积到纳米多孔阳极氧化铝表面上，正如它已被证明为发展的a-Bi膜。这一结果证实了CPI相由于衬底的结构而出现的断言。它支持的图片，纳米薄膜厚度的变化引起的基板驱动本地化。此外，这意味着CPI相可以在可以沉积到该表面上的任何超导材料中被诱导。
A zero-temperature magnetic-field-driven superconductor to insulator transition (SIT) in quasi-two-dimensional superconductors is expected to occur when the applied magnetic-field crosses a certain critical value. A fundamental question is whether this transition is due to the localization of Cooper pairs or due to the destruction of them. Here we address this question by studying the SIT in amorphous WSi. Transport measurements reveal the localization of Cooper pairs at a quantum critical field B_c^1 (Bose-insulator), with a product of the correlation length and dynamical exponents zv~4/3 nea…
Interfacing superconductors with strongly spin-polarized magnetic materials opens the possibility to discover new spintronic devices in which spin-triplet Cooper pairs play a key role. Motivated by the recent derivation of spin-polarized quasiclassical boundary conditions capable of describing such a scenario in the diffusive limit, we consider the emergent physics in hybrid structures comprised of a conventional s-wave superconductor (e.g. Nb, Al) and either strongly spin-polarized ferromagnetic insulators (e.g. EuO, GdN) or halfmetallic ferromagnets (e.g. CrO2, LCMO). In contrast to most pre…
The quantum entanglement between two qubits is crucial for applications in the quantum communication. After the entanglement of photons was experimentally realized, much effort has been taken to exploit the entangled electrons in solid-state systems. Here, we propose a Cooper-pair splitter, which can generate spatially-separated but entangled electrons, in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator proximity-coupled with a superconductor. After coupling with a superconductor, the chiral edge states of the quantum anomalous Hall insulator can still survive, making the backscattering impossible. Thus, t…
Using a dimensional reduction scheme based on scattering theory, we show that the classification tables for topological insulators and superconductors with reflection symmetry can be organized in two period-two and four period-eight cycles, similar to the Bott periodicity found for topological insulators and superconductors without spatial symmetries. With the help of the dimensional reduction scheme the classification in arbitrary dimensions $d \ge 1$ can be obtained from the classification in one dimension, for which we present a derivation based on relative homotopy groups and exact sequenc…
Experiments show that the Cooper pair transport in the insulator phase that forms at thin film superconductor to insulator transitions (SIT) is simply activated. This activated behavior depends on the microscopic factors that drive the localization of the Cooper pairs. To test proposed models, we investigated how a perturbation that weakens Cooper pair binding, magnetic impurity doping, affects the characteristic activation energy, $T_0$. The data show that $T_0$ decreases monotonically with doping in films tuned farther from the SIT and increases and peaks in films that are closer to the SIT …
At the interface between a ferromagnetic insulator and a superconductor there is a coupling between the spins of the two materials. We show that when a supercurrent carried by triplet Cooper pairs flows through the superconductor, the coupling induces a magnon spin current in the adjacent ferromagnetic insulator. The effect is dominated by Cooper pairs polarized in the same direction as the ferromagnetic insulator, so that charge and spin supercurrents produce similar results. Our findings demonstrate a way of converting Cooper pair supercurrents to magnon spin currents.
Rapid miniaturization of electronic devices and circuits demands profound understanding of fluctuation phenomena at the nanoscale. Superconducting nanowires -- serving as important building blocks for such devices -- may seriously suffer from fluctuations which tend to destroy long-range order and suppress superconductivity. In particular, quantum phase slips (QPS) proliferating at low temperatures may turn a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor into a resistor or an insulator. Here, we introduce a physical concept of QPS-controlled localization of Cooper pairs that may occur even in uniform n…
We demonstrate theoretically that a dissipationless spin current can flow a long distance through a diffusive normal metal by using superconductors interfaced with magnetic insulators. The magnitude of this spin supercurrent is controlled via the magnetization orientation of the magnetic insulators. The spin supercurrent obtained in this way is conserved in the normal metal just like the charge-current and interestingly has a term which is independent of the superconducting phase difference. The quantum state of the system can be switched between 0 and $π$ by reversing the insulators from a pa…
In heavy-fermion superconductors, it is widely believed that the superconducting gap function has sign-reversal due to the strong electron correlation. However, recently discovered fully-gapped s-wave superconductivity in CeCu2Si2 has clarified that strong attractive pairing interaction can appear even in heavy-fermion systems. To understand the origin of attractive force, we develop the multipole fluctuation theory by focusing on the inter-multipole many-body interaction called the vertex corrections. By analyzing the periodic Anderson model for CeCu2Si2, we find that hexadecapole fluctuation…
We conducted a systematic study of the disorder dependence of the termination of superconductivity, at high magnetic fields (B), of amorphous indium oxide films. Our lower disorder films show conventional behavior where superconductivity is terminated with a transition to a metallic state at a well-defined critical field, Bc2. Our higher disorder samples undergo a B-induced transition into a strongly insulating state, which terminates at higher B's forming an insulating peak. We demonstrate that the B terminating this peak coincides with Bc2 of the lower disorder samples. Additionally we show …
