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Register a new userTopological Phase Transitions and a Two-Dimensional Weyl Superconductor in a Half-Metal/Superconductor Heterostructure
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We find a series of topological phase transitions in a half-metal/superconductor heterostructure, by tuning the direction of the magnetization of the half-metal film. These include transitions between a topological superconducting phase with a bulk gap and another phase without a bulk gap but has a ubiquitous local gap. At the same time, the edge states change from counter-propagating Majorana edge modes to unidirectional Majorana edge modes. In addition, we find transitions between the second phase and a nodal phase which turns out to be a two-dimensional Weyl superconductor with Fermi line edge states. We identify the topological invariants relevant to each phase and the symmetry that protects the Weyl superconductivity phase.
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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 near the quantum critical point (QCP). Beyond B_c^1, superconducting fluctuations still persist at finite temperatures. Above a second critical field B_c^2>B_c^1, the Cooper pairs are destroyed and the film becomes a Fermi-insulator. The different phases all merge at a tricritical point at finite temperatures with zv=2/3. Our results suggest a sequential superconductor to Bose insulator to Fermi insulator phase transition, which differs from the conventional scenario involving a single quantum critical point.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are not expected to be metals at low temperature due to electron localization. Consistent with this, pioneering studies on thin films reported only superconducting and insulating ground states, with a direct transition between the two as a function of disorder or magnetic field. However, more recent works have revealed the presence of an intermediate metallic state occupying a substantial region of the phase diagram whose nature is intensely debated. Here, we observe such a state in the disorder-free limit of a crystalline 2D superconductor, produced by mechanical co-lamination of NbSe$_2$ in inert atmosphere. Under a small perpendicular magnetic field, we induce a transition from superconductor to the intermediate metallic state. We find a new power law scaling with field in this phase, which is consistent with the Bose metal model where metallic behavior arises from strong phase fluctuations caused by the magnetic field.
The quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductor beta-(BEDT-TTF)_2SF_5CH_2CF_2SO_3 (T_c approx 4.4 K)shows very strong Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations which are superimposed on a highly anomalous steady background magnetoresistance, R_b. Comparison with de Haas- van Alphen oscillations allow a reliable estimate of R_b which is crucial for the correct extraction of the SdH signal. At low temperatures and high magnetic fields insulating behavior evolves. The magnetoresistance data violate Kohlers rule, i.e., cannot be described within the framework of semiclassical transport theory, but converge onto a universal curve appropriate for dynamical scaling at a metal-insulator transition.
We use ionic liquid-assisted electric field effect to tune the carrier density in an electron-doped cuprate ultrathin film and cause a two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). The low upper critical field in this system allows us to perform magnetic field (B)-induced SIT in the liquid-gated superconducting film. Finite-size scaling analysis indicates that SITs induced both by electric and magnetic field are quantum phase transitions and the transitions are governed by percolation effects - quantum mechanical in the former and classical in the latter case. Compared to the hole-doped cuprates, the SITs in electron-doped system occur at critical sheet resistances (Rc) much lower than the pair quantum resistance RQ=h/(2e)2=6.45 k{Omega}, suggesting the possible existence of fermionic excitations at finite temperature at the insulating phase near SITs.
Superconductivity in Dirac electrons has recently been proposed as a new platform between novel concepts in high-energy and condensed matter physics. It has been proposed that supersymmetry and exotic quasiparticles, both of which remain elusive in particle physics, may be realized as emergent particles in superconducting Dirac electron systems. Using artificially fabricated topological insulator-superconductor heterostructures, we present direct spectroscopic evidence for the existence of Cooper pairing in a half Dirac gas 2D topological superconductor. Our studies reveal that superconductivity in a helical Dirac gas is distinctly different from that of in an ordinary two-dimensional superconductor while considering the spin degrees of freedom of electrons. We further show that the pairing of Dirac electrons can be suppressed by time-reversal symmetry breaking impurities removing the distinction. Our demonstration and momentum-space imaging of Cooper pairing in a half Dirac gas and its magnetic behavior taken together serve as a critically important 2D topological superconductor platform for future testing of novel fundamental physics predictions such as emergent supersymmetry and quantum criticality in topological systems.
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