Dimensionality of the Superconductivity in the Transition Metal Pnictide WP.

Angela Nigro,Giuseppe Cuono,Guangtong Liu,Wei Wu,Pasquale Marra,Canio Noce,Antonio Leo,Ziyi Liu,Gaia Grimaldi,Zhenyu Mi,Jianlin Luo,Carmine Autieri

doi:10.3390/ma15031027

Abstract

We report theoretical and experimental results on the transition metal pnictide WP. The theoretical outcomes based on tight-binding calculations and density functional theory indicate that WP is a three-dimensional superconductor with an anisotropic electronic structure and nonsymmorphic symmetries. On the other hand, magnetoresistance experimental data and the analysis of superconducting fluctuations of the conductivity in external magnetic field indicate a weakly anisotropic three-dimensional superconducting phase.

Highlights

The discovery of superconductivity under external pressure in the chromium arsenideCrAs stimulated considerable efforts in the quest of superconductivity in other binary pnictides at ambient pressure [1–3]
CrAs belongs to the family of transition metal pnictides with chemical formula MX, and it has an orthorhombic MnP-type crystal structure at ambient conditions
The synthesis of WP single crystals was accomplished through the chemical vapor transport method which has been proved to be successful to grow transition metal pnictides

Summary

Introduction

The discovery of superconductivity under external pressure in the chromium arsenideCrAs stimulated considerable efforts in the quest of superconductivity in other binary pnictides at ambient pressure [1–3]. CrAs belongs to the family of transition metal pnictides with chemical formula MX (with M = transition metal and X = P, As, Sb), and it has an orthorhombic MnP-type crystal structure at ambient conditions Soon after this discovery, a new member of the same family, the transition metal phosphide MnP, has been grown [4]. Four of the six bonds are inequivalent due to the space group anisotropy [8] In this compound, the spatial extension of the W-5d orbitals induces a large overlap and a strong coupling with the neighboring p-orbitals, resulting in a distortion of the crystal structure more pronounced compared to that of CrAs and MnP [8,9]. The relativistic shifts in orbital energies, combined with spin-orbit and bandwidth effects, drive band inversions leading to topological phases and enhanced Rashba splittings

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Results

Conclusion