Mechanism Of Superconductivity Research Articles

Evolution of two bulk-superconducting phases in Sr0.5RE0.5FBiS2 (RE: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm) by external hydrostatic pressure effect

Polycrystalline samples of Sr0.5RE0.5FBiS2 (RE: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Sm) were synthesized via the solid-state reaction and characterized using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Although all the Sr0.5RE0.5FBiS2 samples exhibited superconductivity at transition temperatures (Tc) within the range of 2.1–2.7 K under ambient pressure, the estimated superconducting volume fraction was small, which indicates non-bulk nature of superconductivity in those samples under ambient pressure. A dramatic increase in shielding fraction, which indicates the emergence of the bulk superconductivity was achieved by applying external hydrostatic pressures. We found that two phases, low-P phases with Tc = 2.5–2.8 K and high-P phases with Tc = 10.0–10.8 K, were induced by the pressure effect for samples with RE = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd. Pressure-Tc phase diagrams indicated that the critical pressure for the emergence of the high-P phase tends to increase with decreasing ionic radius of the doped RE ions, which was explained by the correlation between external and chemical pressure effects. According to the high-pressure X-ray diffraction measurements of Sr0.5La0.5FBiS2, a structural phase transition from tetragonal to monoclinic also occurred at approximately 1.1 GPa. Bulk superconducting phases in Sr0.5RE0.5FBiS2 induced by the external hydrostatic pressure effect are expected to be useful for understanding the effects of both external and chemical pressures to the emergence of bulk superconductivity and pairing mechanisms in BiCh2-based superconductors.

Observation of pseudogap in SnSe2 atomic layers grown on graphite

Superconducting metal dichalcogenides (MDCs) present several similarities to the other layered superconductors like cuprates. The superconductivity in atomically thin MDCs has been demonstrated by recent experiments, however, the investigation of the superconductivity intertwined with other orders are scarce. Investigating the pseudogap in atomic layers of MDCs may help to understand the superconducting mechanism for these true two-dimensional (2D) superconducting systems. Herein we report a pseudogap opening in the tunneling spectra of thin layers of SnSe2 epitaxially grown on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) with scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). A significant V-shaped pseudogap was observed to open near the Fermi level (EF) in the STS. And at elevated temperatures, the gap gradually evolves to a shallow dip. Our experimental observations provide direct evidence of a pseudogap state in the electron-doped SnSe2 atomic layers on the HOPG surface, which may stimulate further exploration of the mechanism of superconductivity at 2D limit in MDCs.

Superconductivity in Quantum Complex Matter: the Superstripes Landscape

While in XX century the theory of superconductivity has focused on a homogeneous metal with a rigid lattice which can be reduced to a single effective conduction band in the dirty limit. Today in the XXI century, the physics of superconductivity is focusing on complexity of quantum matter where novel quantum functionalities with lattice inhomogeneity at nanoscale (between 1 nm and 100 nm) and at mesoscopic scale (in the range 100-10000 nm), where the electronic structure need to be described by multiple Fermi surfaces and multiple gaps in the superconducting phase in the clean limit. The present issue of Journal of superconductivity and Novel magnetism collects papers presented at the International Conference Superstripes 2019 which was held on June 23-29, 2019, in Ischia Island, Italy. The series of Stripes conference started on Dec 8 1996 and it has contributed to scientific advances in the new physics of superconductivity in quantum complex systems in these last 23 years where polarons, strain, multigap superconductivity, exchange interaction between condensates, granular superconductivity and percolation play a key role. The articles collected in this issue cover hot topics of the new quantum physics of complex matter including the mechanism of high temperature superconductivity, complex magnetic orders and orbital physics in strongly correlated materials which have been growing rapidly in these last two years opening new perspectives also in mesoscopic quantum engineering.

Untying the insulating and superconducting orders in magic-angle graphene.

The coexistence of superconducting and correlated insulating states in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene1-11 prompts fascinating questions about their relationship. Independent control of the microscopic mechanisms that govern these phases could help uncover their individual roles and shed light on their intricate interplay. Here we report on direct tuning of electronic interactions in this system by changing the separation distance between the graphene and a metallic screening layer12,13. We observe quenching of correlated insulators in devices with screening layer separations that are smaller than the typical Wannier orbital size of 15 nanometres and with twist angles that deviate slightly from the magic angle of 1.10±0.05 degrees. Upon extinction of the insulating orders, the vacated phase space is taken over by superconducting domes that feature critical temperatures comparable to those in devices with strong insulators. In addition, we find that insulators at half-filling can reappear in small out-of-plane magnetic fields of 0.4 tesla, giving rise to quantized Hall states with a Chern number of 2. Our study suggests re-examination of the often-assumed 'parent-and-child' relation between the insulating and superconducting phases in moiré graphene, and suggests a way of directly probing the microscopic mechanisms of superconductivity in strongly correlated systems.

Phase diagram of cuprate high-temperature superconductors based on the optimization Monte Carlo method

It is important to understand the phase diagram of electronic states in the CuO2 plane to clarify the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity. We investigate the ground state of electronic models with strong correlation by employing the optimization variational Monte Carlo method. We consider the two-dimensional Hubbard model as well as the three-band [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model. We use the improved wave function that takes account of inter-site electron correlation to go beyond the Gutzwiller wave function. The ground state energy is lowered considerably, which now gives the best estimate of the ground state energy for the two-dimensional Hubbard model. The many-body effect plays an important role as an origin of spin correlation and superconductivity in correlated electron systems. We investigate the competition between the antiferromagnetic state and superconducting state by varying the Coulomb repulsion [Formula: see text], the band parameter [Formula: see text] and the electron density [Formula: see text] for the Hubbard model. We show phase diagrams that include superconducting and antiferromagnetic phases. We expect that high-temperature superconductivity occurs near the boundary between antiferromagnetic phase and superconducting one. Since the three-band [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model contains many-band parameters, high-temperature superconductivity may be more likely to occur in the [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] model than in single-band models.

Optical properties of superconducting pressurized LaH10

Recently superconductivity has been discovered at around 200~K in a hydrogen sulfide system and around 260~K in a lanthanum hydride system, both under pressures of about 200 GPa. These record-breaking transition temperatures bring within reach the long-term goal of obtaining room temperature superconductivity. We have used first-principle calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) along with Migdal-Eliashberg theory to investigate the electron-phonon mechanism for superconductivity in the $Fm\bar{3}m$ phase proposed for the LaH$_{10}$ superconductor. We show that the very high transition temperature $T_c$ results from a highly optimized electron-phonon interaction that favors coupling to high frequency hydrogen phonons. Various superconducting properties are calculated, such as the energy gap, the isotope effect, the specific heat jump at $T_c$, the thermodynamic critical field and the temperature-dependent penetration depth. However, our main emphasis is on the finite frequency optical properties, measurement of which may allow for an independent determination of $T_c$ and also a confirmation of the mechanism for superconductivity.

Superconductivity in Electronic Systems with Strong Correlations

We report a consistent microscopic theory of superconductivity for strongly correlated electronic systems. The electronic spectrum and superconductivity are studied using the Bogoliubov–Tyablikov Green functions for the projected (Hubbard) electronic operators. The extended Hubbard model is considered where the intersite Coulomb repulsion and the electron-phonon interaction are taken into account. The $$d$$ ‑wave pairing with high- $${{T}_{c}}$$ is found induced by the strong kinematical interaction of electrons with spin fluctuations that proves the spin-fluctuation mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.

Kohn-Luttinger Mechanism Driven Exotic Topological Superconductivity on the Penrose Lattice.

The Kohn-Luttinger mechanism for unconventional superconductivity (SC) driven by weak repulsive electron-electron interactions on a periodic lattice is generalized to the quasicrystal (QC) via a real-space perturbative approach. The repulsive Hubbard model on the Penrose lattice is studied as an example, on which a classification of the pairing symmetries is performed and a pairing phase diagram is obtained. Tworemarkable properties of these pairing states are revealed, due to the combination of the presence of the point-group symmetry and the lack of translation symmetry on this lattice. First, the spin and spacial angular momenta of a Cooper pair is decorrelated: for each pairing symmetry, both spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairings are possible even in the weak-pairing limit. Second, the pairing states belonging to the 2D irreducible representations of the D_{5} point group can be time-reversal-symmetry-breaking topological SCs carrying spontaneous bulk super current and spontaneous vortices. These two remarkable properties are general for the SCs on all QCs, and are rare on periodic lattices. Our work starts the new area of unconventional SCs driven by repulsive interactions on the QC.

Dialogue on a superconducting laser operating via nonequilibrium inversed population

In nonequilibrium states, the entropy is reduced from its maximum thermodynamic equilibrium value by virtue of an external energy supply. Such states are characterized by a higher ordering compared to the equilibrium. Human beings represent the highest level of nonequilibrium state, at least in the known part of the Universe. Other physical systems are also well-known, for example, quantum generators, e.g., lasers. Their operation requires a high level of deviation from equilibrium called inverse population. In turn, states out of equilibrium require energy influx for their maintenance, i.e., they should be open systems. In this short review we describe in the form of dialogue between Prof. A. M. Gulian and his younger colleagues Dr. Rajendra Dulal, Dr. Serafim Teknowijoyo and Dr. Sara Chahid the task of achieving inverse population in superconductors. Then, the dialogue moves towards experimental consequences that nonequilibrium superconductors can yield. These include topics related with deeper understanding of mechanisms of superconductivity in novel materials, in particular related to the “glue” which pairs electrons in Cooper pairs. Such understanding will facilitate development of Bose-field quantum generators like lasers, and coherent acoustic as well as paramagnon quantum sources, none of which are yet realized in nonequilibrium superconductors.

Nematic superconductivity in twisted bilayer graphene

Twisted bilayer graphene displays insulating and superconducting phases caused by exceptional flattening of its lowest energy bands. Superconductivity with highest $T_c$ appears at hole and electron dopings, near half-filling for valence or conduction bands. In the hole-doped case, the data show that three-fold lattice rotation symmetry is broken in the superconducting phase, i.e., a superconductor is also a nematic. We present the mechanism for nematic superconductivity. We take as an input the fact that at relevant dopings the Fermi energy lies in the vicinity of twist-induced Van Hove singularities in the density of states and argue that the low-energy physics can be properly described by patch models with six Van Hove points for electron doping and twelve Van Hove points for hole doping. We obtain pairing interactions for the patch models in terms of parameters of the microscopic model for the flat bands, which contains both local and twist-induced non-local interactions and show that the latter gives rise to attraction in different superconducting channels. For hole-doping, we find two attractive channels, $g$ and $i$-waves, with almost equal coupling constants. We show that in the co-existence state, where both order parameters are non-zero, the three-fold lattice rotation symmetry is broken, i.e., a superconductor is also a nematic. We find two possible nematic states, one is time-reversal symmetric, the other additionally breaks time-reversal symmetry. Our scenario for nematic superconductivity is based on generic symmetry considerations, and we expect it to be applicable also to other systems with two (or more) attractive channels with similar couplings.

Reversible Superconductor-Insulator Transition in (Li, Fe)OHFeSe Flakes Visualized by Gate-Tunable Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy.

Electric field control of charge carrier density provides a key in situ technology to continuously tune the ground states and map out the phase diagram of correlated electron systems in one device. This technique is highly expected to be combined with the modern state-of-the art spectroscopic probes, such as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), to efficiently address these states and the underlying physics. However, it is extremely difficult and not successful so far, mainly because the fabrication process of such devices makes them prohibitive for surface probes. Here, by using a solid Li-ion conductor (SIC) as gate dielectric, we have successfully developed gate-tunable STM/S and visualized the superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in a thin flake of single crystal (Li, Fe)OHFeSe at the nanoscale. The gate-controlled Li-ion injection first enhances the superconductivity and then drives the flake into an inhomogeneous insulating state, where superconductivity is totally suppressed. This process can be reversed by applying an opposite gate voltage. Importantly, the atomically resolved images allow us to identify the critical role that the injected Li ions play in the tuning process. Our results not only provide clear evidence of the microscopic mechanism of the tunable superconductivity and SIT in the SIC-based (Li, Fe)OHFeSe devices, but also establish SIC-gating STM as a powerful tool for investigating the complicated phase diagram of correlated electron system spectroscopically in a single sample with the field-effect approach.

Emergence of d±ip -wave superconducting state at the edge of d -wave superconductors mediated by ferromagnetic fluctuations driven by Andreev bound states

We propose a mechanism of spin-triplet superconductivity at the edge of $d$-wave superconductors. Recent theoretical research in $d$-wave superconductors predicted that strong ferromagnetic (FM) fluctuations are induced by large density of states due to edge Andreev bound states (ABS). Here, we construct the linearized gap equation for the edge-induced superconductivity, and perform a numerical study based on a large cluster Hubbard model with bulk $d$-wave superconducting (SC) gap. We find that ABS-induced strong FM fluctuations mediate the $d \pm ip$-wave SC state, in which the time-reversal symmetry is broken. The edge-induced $p$-wave transition temperature $T_{cp}$ is slightly lower than the bulk $d$-wave one $T_{cd}$, and the Majorana bound state may be created at the endpoint of the edge.

Fermi surface electron–hole instability of the (TMTSF)2PF6 Bechgaard salt revealed by the first-principles Lindhard response function

We report the first-principles DFT calculation of the electron–hole Lindhard response function of the (TMTSF)2PF6 Bechgaard salt using the real triclinic low-temperature structure. The Lindhard response is found to change considerably with temperature. Near the 2kF spin density wave (SDW) instability it has the shape of a broad triangular plateau as a result of the multiple nesting associated with the warped quasi-one-dimensional Fermi surface. The evolution of the 2kF broad maximum as well as the effect of pressure and deuteration is calculated and analyzed. The thermal dependence of the electron–hole coherence length deduced from these calculations compares very well with the experimental thermal evolution of the 2kF bond order wave correlation length. The existence of a triangular plateau of maxima in the low-temperature electron–hole Lindhard response of (TMTSF)2PF6 should favor a substantial mixing of q-dependent fluctuations which can have important consequences in understanding the phase diagram of the 2kF SDW ground state, the mechanism of superconductivity and the magneto-transport of this paradigmatic quasi-one-dimensional material. The first-principles DFT Lindhard response provides a very accurate and unbiased approach to the low-temperature instabilities of (TMTSF)2PF6 which can take into account in a simple way 3D effects and subtle structural variations, thus providing a very valuable tool in understanding the remarkable physics of molecular conductors.

Phase Diagram and Mechanism of Superconductivity in Strongly Correlated Electrons

We investigate the phase diagram of two-dimensional (2D) Hubbard model by employing the optimization variational Monte Carlo method. The 2D Hubbard model is the most simple electronic model for cuprate high-temperature superconductors. The phase diagram consists of three regions; they are antiferromagnetic insulator region, superconducting region, and the coexistent region of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism. The phase diagram obtained by numerical calculations well agrees with the experimental phase diagram for high-temperature cuprates.

The Mechanism of Doping and the Features of Phase Diagrams of HTSC Cuprates and Ferropnictides

We propose a generalized model of electronic structure modification in HTSC cuprates and ferropnictides under doping. In this model the role of doping consists in only a local change in the electronic structures of the parent phases of cuprates and ferropnictides due to the formation of trion complexes comprising a doped carrier localized in unit cell and charge transfer (CT) excitons around it. These CT excitons emerge in CuO4 or AsFe4 plaquettes in the CuO2 or FeAs basal planes (CT plaquettes) under the influence of doped carrier, restricting its itinerancy. As the dopant concentration is increased, CT plaquettes combine into clusters of the so called CT phase. It is this CT phase that is related in the model to the HTSC phase. In support of this assumption, we determined the ranges of dopant concentrations conforming to the existence of percolation clusters of the CT phase; these ranges were shown to coincide with the positions of the superconducting domes on the phase diagrams of these compounds. The model also perfectly describes subtle features of the phase diagrams of various cuprates and ferropnictides including the 1/8 anomaly, narrow peaks in the dependences of the London penetration depth on the concentration of the dopant, and other specific features. The mechanism of the generation of free carriers in the CT phase, provided by intrinsic self-doping, was considered. The mechanism is not directly related to external doping, but is due to the interaction of band electrons with so called Heitler-London (HL) centres inherently existing in the percolation cluster of CT phase and representing pairs of adjacent CuO4 or AsFe4 CT plaquettes in the CuO2 or FeAs basal planes. Material in CT phase was shown to represent a medium, in which the mechanism of excitonic superconductivity, specified by the interaction of band electrons with HL centres, can be realized.

Anomalous spectral weight transfer in the nematic state of iron-selenide superconductor**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11888101, 91421107, and 11574004) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFA0301003 and 2018YFA0305602).

Nematic phase intertwines closely with high-Tc superconductivity in iron-based superconductors. Its mechanism, which is closely related to the pairing mechanism of superconductivity, still remains controversial. Comprehensive characterization of the electronic state reconstruction in the nematic phase is thus crucial. However, most experiments focus only on the reconstruction of band dispersions. Another important characteristic of electronic state, the spectral weight, has not been studied in details so far. Here, we studied the spectral weight transfer in the nematic phase of FeSe0.9S0.1 using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and in-situ detwinning technique. There are two elliptical electron pockets overlapping with each other orthogonally at the Brillouin zone corner. We found that, upon cooling, one electron pocket loses spectral weight and fades away, while the other electron pocket gains spectral weight and becomes pronounced. Our results show that the symmetry breaking of the electronic state is manifested by not only the anisotropic band dispersion but also the band-selective modulation of the spectral weight. Our observation completes our understanding of the nematic electronic state, and put strong constraints on the theoretical models. It further provides crucial clues to understand the gap anisotropy and orbital-selective pairing in iron-selenide superconductors.

Unconventional superconductivity in CuxBi2Se3 from magnetic susceptibility and electrical transport

Although the Cu doped Bi2Se3 topological insulator was discovered and intensively studied for almost a decade, its electrical and magnetic properties in normal state, and the mechanism of ‘high-Tc’ superconductivity regarding the relatively low-carrier density are still not addressed yet. In this work, we report a systematic investigation of magnetic susceptibility, critical fields, and electrical transport on the nominal Cu0.20Bi2Se3 single crystals with = 4.18 K, the highest so far. The composition analysis yields the Cu stoichiometry of x = 0.09(1). The magnetic susceptibility shows considerable anisotropy and an obvious kink at around 96 K was observed in the magnetic susceptibility for H∥c, which indicates a charge density anomaly. The electrical transport measurements indicate the two-dimensional (2D) Fermi liquid behavior at low temperatures with a high Kadowaki–Woods ratio, A/γ2 = 30.3a0. The lower critical field at 0 K limit was extracted to be 6.0 Oe for H∥ab. In the clean limit, the ratio of energy gap to Tc was determined to be Δ0/kBTc = 2.029 ± 0.124 exceeding the standard BCS value 1.764, suggesting Cu0.09Bi2Se3 is a strong-coupling superconductor. The in-plane penetration depth at 0 K was calculated to be 1541.57 nm, resulting in an unprecedented high ratio of Tc/λ−2(0) ≅ 9.86. Moreover, the ratio of Tc to Fermi temperature is estimated to be = 0.034. Both ratios fall into the region of unconventional superconductivity according to Uemura’s regime, supporting the unconventional superconducting mechanism in CuxBi2Se3. Finally, the enhanced Tc value higher than 4 K is proposed to arise from the increased density of states at Fermi energy and strong electron–phonon interaction induced by the charge density instability.

Translational-Invariant Bipolarons and Superconductivity

A translation-invariant (TI) bipolaron theory of superconductivity based, like Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory, on Fröhlich Hamiltonian is presented. Here the role of Cooper pairs belongs to TI bipolarons which are pairs of spatially delocalized electrons whose correlation length of a coupled state is small. The presence of Fermi surface leads to the stabilization of such states in its vicinity and a possibility of their Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC). The theory provides a natural explanation of the existence of a pseudogap phase preceding the superconductivity and enables one to estimate the temperature of a transition T * from a normal state to a pseudogap one. It is shown that the temperature of BEC of TI bipolarons determines the temperature of a superconducting transition T c which depends not on the bipolaron effective mass but on the ordinary mass of a band electron. This removes restrictions on the upper limit of T c for a strong electron-phonon interaction. A natural explanation is provided for the angular dependence of the superconducting gap which is determined by the angular dependence of the phonon spectrum. It is demonstrated that a lot of experiments on thermodynamic and transport characteristics, Josephson tunneling and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of high-temperature superconductors does not contradict the concept of a TI bipolaron mechanism of superconductivity in these materials. Possible ways of enhancing T c and producing new room-temperature superconductors are discussed on the basis of the theory suggested.

In-plane ordering of oxygen vacancies in a high- Tc cuprate superconductor with compressed Cu-O octahedrons: An automated cluster expansion study

A recently discovered high-Tc cuprate superconductor Ba2CuO$_{4-\delta}$ exhibits exceptional Jahn-Teller distortion, wherein the CuO6 octahedrons are compressed along the c axis. As a consequence, the O vacancies prefer to reside in the CuO2 plane, but the exact structure is not known. By combining first-principles total energy calculation with the automated structure inversion method, the effective cluster interactions of O vacancies are mapped out. Around $\delta$=0.8, where the 73K superconductivity was observed experimentally, we predict that the ordered O vacancies slice the CuO2 plane into not only 1D chains and but also two-leg ladders. A Monte Carlo simulation is performed based on the effective cluster interaction model, showing that such an ordering pattern is stable up to ~900 K. Our results put forth a concrete structural basis to discuss the underlying superconducting mechanism.

Two superconducting phases induced at point contacts on the Weyl semimetal TaAs

Tip-induced superconductivity at point contacts on the nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetal TaAs has been reported recently. Meanwhile, both the main tetragonal phase and the intergrown hexagonal phase of TaAs were identified to be topologically nontrivial according to theoretical calculations. Here, we report the observation of two independent local superconducting states induced at the point contacts formed on TaAs, which exhibit distinct temperature dependencies of the critical magnetic field ${H}_{c2}(T)$. A universal relationship between ${H}_{c2}(0)$, ${T}_{c}$, and the Fermi velocities of bulk bands near Weyl points of the two TaAs phases was uncovered, demonstrating the dominant role of the bulk bands in the emergence of superconductivity, rather than the surface states. These results provide a direction to study the mechanism of the tip-induced superconductivity in topological semimetals.