Stability of the coexistence phase of chiral superconductivity and noncollinear spin ordering with a nontrivial topology and strong electron correlations
We show that the quantum charge and spin fluctuations, while sufficiently renormalizing the magnetic order parameter, do not destroy the coexistence phase of chiral d+id superconductivity and 120-degree spin ordering in a strongly correlated 2D system with a triangular lattice. The nontrivial topology characterized by the topological invariant N3 is also preserved. It is shown that the Majorana mode exist among edge states in the topologically nontrivial phase. The spatial structure of such mode is determined. The spin and charge fluctuations shift the critical values of electron density at which quantum topological transitions occur. Increasing intersite Coulomb repulsion leads to decrease in the number of the topological transitions.
Superconductivity in crystals without inversion symmetry has received extensive attention due to its unconventional pairing and possible nontrivial topological properties. Using first-principles calculations, we systemically study the electronic structure of noncentrosymmetric superconductors $A_2$Cr$_3$As$_3$ ($A$=Na, K, Rb and Cs). Topologically protected triply degenerate points connected by one-dimensional arcs appear along the $C_{3}$ axis, coexisting with strong ferromagnetic (FM) fluctuations in the non-superconducting state. Within random phase approximation, our calculations show that…
The intersection of two-dimensional superconductivity and topologically nontrivial states hosts a wide range of quantum phenomena, including Majorana fermions. Coexistence of topologically nontrivial states and superconductivity in a single material, however, remains elusive. Here, we report on the observation of two-dimensional superconductivity and weak anti-localization at the TiOx/KTaO3(111) interfaces. A remnant, saturating resistance persists below the transition temperature as superconducting puddles fail to reach phase coherence. Signatures of weak anti-localization are observed below …
Substitution modulated transition from semimetal to superconductor in ZrTe$_{2-x}$Se$_x$ with coexistence of nontrivial electronic topology
Escola de Engenharia de Lorena - DEMAR, Universidade de São Paulo（圣保罗大学洛雷纳工程学院-DEMAR）；Universidade Federal do ABC, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas（ABC联邦大学自然与人文中心）；Instituto de Ciências Tecnológicas e Exatas, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro（米纳斯吉拉斯三角区联邦大学技术与科学研究所）；Chair of Computational Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)（洛桑联邦理工学院物理学院计算凝聚态物理讲席）
The Z2 topological invariant is defined in the chiral d-wave superconductor having a triangular lattice in the presence of the 120 degrees magnetic ordering. By analyzing the Z2 invariant, we determine the conditions of implementing nontrivial phases in the model with regard to superconducting pairings between nearest and next nearest neighbors. It is often supposed in such system that the pairing parameter between nearest neighbors should be equal to zero due to influence of the intersite Coulomb interaction. We show that taking into account even weak pairings in the first coordination sphere…
We discuss the properties of topologically nontrivial superconducting phases and the conditions for their realization in condensed matter, and the principles for identifying Majorana bound states (MBSs). Along with the well-known Kitaev chain and superconducting nanowire (SW) models with spin-orbit coupling in an external magnetic field, we discuss models of quasi-2D materials in which MBSs are realized in the presence of noncollinear spin ordering. For finite-length SWs, we demonstrate a cascade of quantum transitions occurring with a change in the magnetic field, accompanied by a change in t…
Three-component fermion beyond the conventional Dirac Weyl Majorana classification attracts extensive attentions recently and many efforts have been paid to explore their superconductivity. Based on first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the electron-phonon coupling (EPC) in the three-component fermion materials WN, WC and TaN. The EPC in pristine and pressured WC and TaN are to small to induce superconductivity. Electron doping can efficiently enhance the EPC strength and the predicted Tcs reach the value of experiments. Upon 0.6 electron/unitcell doping, the EPC strengt…
The interplay of nontrivial topology and superconductivity in condensed matter physics gives rise to exotic phenomena. However, materials are extremely rare where it is possible to explore the full details of the superconducting pairing. Here, we investigate the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap distribution in a novel Dirac material PdTe. Using high resolution, low temperature photoemission spectroscopy, we establish it as a spin-orbit coupled Dirac semimetal with the topological Fermi arc crossing the Fermi level on the (010) surface. This spin-textured surface state exhibits a …
Over the past fifteen years, tremendous efforts have been devoted to realizing topological superconductivity in realistic materials and systems, predominately propelled by their promising application potentials in fault-tolerant quantum information processing. In this article, we attempt to give an overview on some of the main developments in this field, focusing in particular on two-dimensional crystalline superconductors that possess either intrinsic p-wave pairing or nontrivial band topology. We first classify the three different conceptual schemes to achieve topological superconductor (TSC…
The recently discovered layered kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$(A=K, Rb, Cs) have attracted much attention because of their unique combination of superconductivity, charge density wave (CDW) order, and nontrivial band topology. The CDW order with an in-plane 2x2 reconstruction is found to exhibit exotic properties, such as time-reversal symmetry breaking and rotational symmetry breaking. However, the nature of the CDW, including its dimensionality, structural pattern, and effect on electronic structure, remains elusive despite intense research efforts. Here, using angle-resolved photoemission spect…
Discovery of parity-violating chiral polar-nematic charge density wave and superconductivity in kagome metals
Beijing National Center for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院物理研究所）；School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学物理科学学院）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）；Department of Physics, Boston College（波士顿学院物理系）；Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University（香港理工大学应用物理系）；Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学化学系）
Many-body instabilities and topological physics are two attractive topics in condensed matter physics. It is intriguing to explore the interplay between these phenomena in a single quantum material. Here, using the prototypical charge density wave (CDW) material monolayer 1H-NbSe$_2$ as an example, we show how momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling drives the CDW transition from $3\times3$ to $2\times2$ phase under electron doping. More interestingly, we find the coexistence of superconductivity and nontrivial topology in one of the two $2\times2$ CDW phases, the latter of which is identi…
The band topology of a superconductor is known to have profound impact on the existence of Majorana zero modes in vortices. As iron-based superconductors with band inversion and $s_{\pm}$-wave pairing can give rise to time-reversal invariant second-order topological superconductivity, manifested by the presence of helical Majorana hinge states in three dimensions, we are motivated to investigate the interplay between the second-order topology and the vortex lines in both weak- and strong-Zeeman-field regimes. In the weak-Zeeman-field regime, we find that vortex lines far away from the hinges a…
A group of newly discovered non-magnetic metal kagome structures AV3Sb5 (A=K, Rb, Cs) have aroused widespread interest in experiment and theory due to their unusual charge density wave (CDW) and intertwined superconductivity. However, they all possess weak electron-phonon coupling (EPC) and low superconducting transition temperature. Here, we performed high-throughput first-principles calculations on novel kagome candidates with AV3Sb5 prototype structure, and proposed 24 dynamically stable novel kagome metals. The calculation based on Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory shows that most of these …
To realize topological superconductor is one of the most attracting topics because of its great potential in quantum computation. In this study, we successfully intercalate potassium (K) into the van der Waals gap of type II Weyl semimetal WTe2, and discover the superconducting state in KxWTe2 through both electrical transport and scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements. The superconductivity exhibits an evident anisotropic behavior. Moreover, we also uncover the coexistence of superconductivity and the positive magneto-resistance state. Structural analysis substantiates the negligible la…
The importance of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effect in Fe-based superconductors (FeSCs) has recently been under hot debate. Considering the Hund's coupling-induced electronic correlation, the understanding of the role of SOC in FeSCs is not trivial and is still elusive. Here, through a comprehensive study of 77Se and 57Fe nuclear magnetic resonance, a nontrivial SOC effect is revealed in the nematic state of FeSe. First, the orbital-dependent spin susceptibility, determined by the anisotropy of the 57Fe Knight shift, indicates a predominant role from the 3dxy orbital, which suggests the coe…
CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is a newly discovered Kagome superconductor that attracts great interest due to its topological nontrivial band structure and the coexistence of superconductivity and charge-density-wave (CDW) with many exotic properties. Here, we report the detailed characterization of the CDW gap in high-quality CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ single crystals using high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We find that the CDW gap is strongly momentum dependent. While gapped around the $M$ point, the electronic states remain gapless around the $Γ$ point and along the $Γ$-$K$ direction. Such mome…
