Topological superconductors (TSCs) are correlated quantum states with simultaneous off-diagonal long-range order and nontrivial topological invariants. They produce gapless or zero energy boundary excitations, including Majorana zero modes and chiral Majorana edge states with topologically protected phase coherence essential for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Candidate TSCs are very rare in nature. Here, we propose a novel route toward emergent quasi-one-dimensional (1D) TSCs in naturally embedded quantum structures such as atomic line defects in unconventional spin-singlet $s$-wave and $d$-wave superconductors. We show that inversion symmetry breaking and charge transfer due to the missing atoms lead to the occupation of incipient impurity bands and mixed parity spin singlet and triplet Cooper pairing of neighboring electrons traversing the line defect. Nontrivial topological invariants arise and occupy a large part of the parameter space, including the time reversal symmetry breaking Zeeman coupling due to applied magnetic field or defect-induced magnetism, creating TSCs in different topological classes with robust Majorana zero modes at both ends of the line defect. Beyond providing a novel mechanism for the recent discovery of zero-energy bound states at both ends of an atomic line defect in monolayer Fe(Te,Se) superconductors, the findings pave the way for new material realizations of the simplest and most robust 1D TSCs using embedded quantum structures in unconventional superconductors with large pairing energy gaps and high transition temperatures.
Evidence for Unconventional Superconductivity in Arsenic-Free Iron-Based Superconductor FeSe : A ^77Se-NMR Study
本文报道了具有与LaFeAsO $_{1-x}$ F $_x$超导体相似的晶体结构的$α$的核磁共振（NMR）结果.核自旋晶格弛豫速率$1/T_1$在超导转变温度$T_c$以下表现出$T^3$行为，没有相干峰。在高于$T_c$的宽温度范围内，可以看到指示费米液态的$T_1T=$恒定行为。$α$ -FeSe的超导电性与LaFeAsO $_{1-x}$ F $_x$及相关材料一样，也是一种非常规的超导电性. FeAs层对非常规超导性的发生不是必需的。
We study electron correlation driven superconductivity on a decorated honeycomb lattice (DHL), which has a low-energy flat band. On doping, we find singlet superconductivity with extended-s, extended-d and f-wave symmetry mediated by magnetic exchange. f-wave singlet pairing is enabled by the lattice decoration. The critical temperature is predicted to be significantly higher than on similar lattices lacking flat bands. We discuss how high-temperature superconductivity could be realized in the DHL materials such as Rb3TT. 2 H2O and Mo3S7(dmit)3.
There is intense controversy around the unconventional superconductivity in strontium ruthenate, where the various theoretical and experimental studies suggest diverse and mutually exclusive pairing symmetries. Currently, the investigation is solely focused on only one material, Sr2RuO4, and the field suffers from the lack of comparison targets. Here, employing a density functional theory based analysis, we show that the heterostructure composed of SrRuO3 and SrTiO3 is endowed with all the key characteristics of Sr2RuO4, and, in principle, can host superconductivity. Furthermore, we show that …
In quantum materials, electrons that have strong correlations tend to localize, leading to quantum spins as the building blocks for low-energy physics. When strongly correlated electrons coexist with more weakly-correlated conduction electrons, multiple channels of effective interactions develop and compete with each other. The competition creates quantum fluctuations having a large spectral weight, with the associated entropies reaching significant fractions of $R\ln 2$ per electron. Advancing a framework to understand how the fluctuating local moments influence unconventional superconductivi…
We present a novel route for attaining unconventional superconductivity (SC) in a strongly correlated system without doping. In a simple model of a correlated band insulator (BI) at half-filling we demonstrate, based on a generalization of the projected wavefunctions method, that SC emerges when e-e interactions and the bare band-gap are both much larger than the kinetic energy, provided the system has sufficient frustration against the magnetic order. As the interactions are tuned, SC appears sandwiched between the correlated BI followed by a paramagnetic metal on one side, and a ferrimagneti…
Unconventional Superconductivity in UPd_2Al_3 from Realistic Selfconsistent Calculations
报道了重费米子材料中非常规超导性的现实自洽计算。我们对UPd $_2$ Al $_3$的计算从精确的能带色散开始，这些能带色散是在局域自旋密度泛函理论内计算的，并提供了与实验一致的费米面。使用物理动机，现实的配对电位，它示出的超导能隙有两行的节点围绕z轴，从而表现出d波对称的$A_{1g}$表示的$D_{6h}$点群。我们的结果表明，在超导体与间隙节点，占主导地位的间隙对称性是由约束，节点必须尽可能远离高密度区域。
Motivated by a scarcity of simple and analytically tractable models of superconductivity from strong repulsive interactions, we introduce a simple tight-binding lattice model of fermions with repulsive interactions that exhibits unconventional superconductivity (beyond BCS theory). The model resembles an idealized conductor-dielectric-conductor trilayer. The Cooper pair consists of electrons on opposite sides of the dielectric, which mediates the attraction. In the strong coupling limit, we use degenerate perturbation theory to show that the model reduces to a superconducting hard-core Bose-Hu…
We have investigated the Se isotope effect in layered bismuth chalcogenide (BiCh2-based) superconductor LaO0.6F0.4Bi(S,Se)2 with 76Se and 80Se. For all examined samples, the Se concentration, which is linked to the superconducting properties, is successfully controlled within x = 1.09-1.14 in LaO0.6F0.4BiS2-xSex. From the magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements, changes in Tc are not observed for the LaO0.6F0.4Bi(S,Se)2 samples with 76Se and 80Se isotopes. Our results suggest that pairing in the BiCh2-based superconductors is not mediated by phonons, and unconventional supercondu…
Have you been lying awake wondering what symmetries determine whether a superconductor is spin singlet, triplet, or both? We show that if BCS theory is supplied with additional degrees of freedom, spin singlet can coexist with spin triplet superconductivity. In the first part, we didactically guide the reader to the most general superconducting state using symmetry arguments. If both singlet and triplet pairing channels are present, a magnetic field can convert between spin singlet and triplet states. In the second part, we discuss two possible singlet-triplet superconductors: CeRh$_2$As$_2$ a…
We study electronic ordering instabilities of twisted bilayer graphene with $n=2$ electrons per supercell, where correlated insulator state and superconductivity are recently observed. Motivated by the Fermi surface nesting and the proximity to Van Hove singularity, we introduce a hot-spot model to study the effect of various electron interactions systematically. Using renormalization group method, we find $d$/$p$-wave superconductivity and charge/spin density wave emerge as the two types of leading instabilities driven by Coulomb repulsion. The density wave state has a gapped energy spectrum …
Unconventional superconductivity and magnetism are intertwined on a microscopic level in a wide class of materials, including high-$T_c$ cuprates, iron pnictides, and heavy-fermion compounds. A new approach to this most fundamental and hotly debated subject focuses on the role of interactions between superconducting electrons and bosonic fluctuations at the interface between adjacent layers in heterostructures. A recent state-of-the-art molecular-beam-epitaxy technique has enabled us to fabricate superlattices consisting of different heavy-fermion compounds with atomic thickness. These Kondo s…
Unconventional superconductivity and antiferromagnetic quantum critical behavior in the isovalent-doped BaFe2(As1-xPx)2
用$^{31}$ P NMR研究了BaFe $_2$（As $_{1-x}$ P $_x$）$_2$的自旋动力学随P浓度的变化.我们的核磁共振研究表明，二维反铁磁（AF）的波动显着增强与静态磁化率的变化不大接近AF阶段从超导圆顶。此外，磁有序温度$θ$推导出的弛豫速率在最佳掺杂消失。这些结果为量子临界点（QCP）提供了明确的证据，表明与QCP相关的AF涨落在高- $T_c$超导性中发挥着核心作用。
We employ the weak-coupling renormalization group approach to study unconventional superconducting phases emerging in the extended, repulsive Hubbard model on paradigmatic two-dimensional lattices. Repulsive interactions usually lead to higher-angular momentum Cooper pairing. By considering not only longer-ranged hoppings, but also non-local electron-electron interactions, we are able to find superconducting solutions for all irreducible representations on the square and hexagonal lattices, including extended regions of chiral topological superconductivity. For the square, triangular and honey…
A three-fermion problem in a three-dimensional lattice with anisotropic hopping is solved by discretizing the Schroedinger equation in momentum space. Interparticle interaction comprises on-site Hubbard repulsion and in-plane nearest-neighbor attraction. By comparing the energy of three-fermion bound clusters (trions) with the energy of one pair plus one free particle, a trion formation threshold is accurately determined, and the region of pair stability is mapped out. It is found that the "close-packed" density of fermion pairs is highest in a strongly anisotropic model. It is also argued tha…
Unconventional superconductivity in the layered iron germanide YFe$_2$Ge$_2$
自从2006年在LaFePO中发现超导性以来，已经在不同的结构家族中鉴定出许多铁基超导体，所有这些都将铁与V族（磷属元素）或VI族（硫属元素）元素结合。非常规的超导性在这些层状铁系统和铜酸盐之外的过渡金属化合物中是极其罕见的，并且它几乎普遍与高度各向异性的电子性质和接近2D的费米表面几何形状相关联。铁基金属间化合物YFe $_2$ Ge $_2$具有3D费米面和强烈增强的低温热容，这表明强的电子相关性。我们目前的数据从新一代的高品质样品的YFe $_2$锗$_2$，这表明超导转变异常低于1.8 K的热力学以及运输测量，建立超导性是内在的，在这个层状铁化合物以外的已知的超导铁磷属元素化物或硫属元素化物家庭。YFe $_2$ Ge $_2$的费米面几何形状类似于KFe $_2$ As $_2$在高压下坍缩的四方相的费米面几何形状，其中最近报道了在高达10 K的温度下的超导性，这表明两个系统之间的潜在联系。
In 1994, an unconventional form of superconductivity was detected in strontium ruthenate. The discovery has shed light on the mechanism of unconventional superconductivity at high temperatures. "The great tragedy of Science [is] the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an [experimental] fact." - T.H. Huxley, Biogenesis and abiogenesis, (1884)
Superconductivity is a remarkably widespread phenomenon observed in most metals cooled down to very low temperatures. The ubiquity of such conventional superconductors, and the wide range of associated critical temperatures, is readily understood in terms of the celebrated Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. Occasionally, however, unconventional superconductors are found, such as the iron-based materials, which extend and defy this understanding in new and unexpected ways. In the case of the iron-based superconductors, this includes a new appreciation of the ways in which the presence of m…
We consider possible high temperature superconductivity (high-T$_c$) in transition metal compounds with a cubic zinc-blende lattice structure. When the electron filling configuration in the d-shell is close to d$^7$, all three t$_{2g}$ orbitals are near half filling with strong nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic (AFM) superexchange interactions. We argue that upon doping, this electronic environment can be one of "genes" to host unconventional high T$_c$ with a time reversal symmetry broken $d_{2z^2-x^2-y^2} \pm i d_{x^2-y^2}$ pairing symmetry. With gappless nodal points along the diagonal dir…
Oxygen exhibits structural phase transformation from non-metallic $ε$-O2 phase into metallic $ζ$-O2 phase at pressure of P = 96 GPa (Desgreniers et al 1990 J. Phys. Chem. 94 1117; Akahama et al 1995 Phys. Rev. Lett. 74 4690). Metallic $ζ$-O2 phase is a superconductor with transition temperature of Tc = 0.6 K at P = 115-120 GPa (Shimizu et al 1998 Nature 393 767). In this paper we have performed analysis of temperature dependent upper critical field, Bc2(T), for $ζ$-O2 phase (P = 115 GPa) and show that this highly-compressed phase of gaseous molecular element is unconventional superconductor wi…
Tracking unconventional superconductivity in the presence of strongly correlated Fermi arcs
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院物理研究所）；Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学材料科学与工程系及材料研究所）
Unconventional Superconductivity in the Novel Layered Superconductor Fe(Te-Se) Investigated by $^{125}$Te NMR on the Single Crystal
我们首次对新型层状超导体Fe $_{1.04}$ Te $_{0.67}$ Se $_{0.33}$的单晶进行了$^{125}$ Te NMR研究。$H // a$和$H // c$的Knight位移的自旋部分在超导态被抑制，表明自旋单重态超导性。在超导态，$1/T_{1}$表现出幂律行为（$\sim T^{3}$），没有任何相干峰。剩余态密度和$T^{3}$定律的观测表明了超导带隙中线节点的存在。在正常状态下，探测自旋涨落的\textbf{q} -总和的$1/T_{1}T$在低温下增强。我们的研究结果表明，超导电性在Fe $_{1+δ}$ Te $_{1-x}$ Se $_{x}$是稳定的反铁磁自旋涨落的增长，以及在FeSe。
