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Register a new userMultiband Superconductivity in the time reversal symmetry broken superconductor Re6Zr
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We report point contact Andreev Reflection (PCAR) measurements on a high-quality single crystal of the non-centrosymmetric superconductor Re6Zr. We observe that the PCAR spectra can be fitted by taking two isotropic superconducting gaps with Delta_1 ~ 0.79 meV and Delta_2 ~ 0.22 meV respectively, suggesting that there are at least two bands which contribute to superconductivity. Combined with the observation of time reversal symmetry breaking at the superconducting transition from muon spin relaxation measurements (Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 107002 (2014)), our results imply an unconventional superconducting order in this compound: A multiband singlet state that breaks time reversal symmetry or a triplet state dominated by interband pairing.
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We have investigated the superconducting state of the non-centrosymmetric compound Re6Zr using magnetization, heat capacity, and muon-spin relaxation/rotation (muSR) measurements. Re6Zr has a superconducting transition temperature, Tc = 6.75 K. Transverse-field muSR experiments, used to probe the superfluid density, suggest an s-wave character for the superconducting gap. However, zero and longitudinal-field muSR data reveal the presence of spontaneous static magnetic fields below Tc indicating that time-reversal symmetry is broken in the superconducting state and an unconventional pairing mechanism. An analysis of the pairing symmetries identifies the ground states compatible with time-reversal symmetry breaking.
The topological superconductor UPt3, has three distinct vortex phases, a strong indication of its unconventional character. Using small-angle neutron scattering we have probed the vortex lattice in the UPt3 B phase with the magnetic field along the crystal c-axis. We find a difference in the vortex lattice configuration depending on the sign of the magnetic field relative to the field direction established upon entering the B phase at low temperature in a field sweep, showing that the vortices in this material posses an internal degree of freedom. This observation is facilitated by the discovery of a field driven non-monotonic vortex lattice rotation, driven by competing effects of the superconducting gap distortion and the vortex-core structure. From our bulk measurements we infer that the superconducting order parameter in the UPt3 B phase breaks time reversal symmetry and exhibits chiral symmetry with respect to the c-axis.
We report the magnetic and superconducting properties of locally noncentrosymmetric SrPtAs obtained by muon-spin-rotation/relaxation (muSR) measurements. Zero-field muSR reveals the occurrence of small spontaneous static magnetic fields with the onset of superconductivity. This finding suggests that the superconducting state of SrPtAs breaks time-reversal symmetry. The superfluid density as determined by transverse field muSR is nearly flat approaching T = 0 K proving the absence of extended nodes in the gap function. By symmetry, several superconducting states supporting time-reversal symmetry breaking in SrPtAs are allowed. Out of these, a dominantly d + id (chiral d-wave) order parameter is most consistent with our experimental data.
Exotic superconductors, such as high T$_C$, topological, and heavy-fermion superconductors, require phase sensitive measurements to determine the underlying pairing. Here we investigate the proximity-induced superconductivity in nanowires of SnTe, where an $spm is^{prime}$ superconducting state is produced that lacks the time-reversal and valley-exchange symmetry of the parent SnTe. This effect, in conjunction with a ferroelectric distortion of the lattice at low temperatures, results in a marked alteration of the properties of Josephson junctions fabricated using SnTe nanowires. This work establishes the existence of a ferroelectric transition in SnTe nanowires and elucidates the role of ferroelectric domain walls on the flow of supercurrent through SnTe weak links. We detail two unique characteristics of these junctions: an asymmetric critical current in the DC Josephson effect and a prominent second harmonic in the AC Josephson effect. Each reveals the broken time-reversal symmetry in the junction. The novel $spm is^{prime}$ superconductivity and the new Josephson effects can be used to investigate fractional vortices [1,2], topological superconductivity in multiband materials [3-5], and new types of Josephson-based devices in proximity-induced multiband and ferroelectric superconductors [6,7].
The symmetry properties of the order parameter characterize different phases of unconventional superconductors. In the case of the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt$_3$, a key question is whether its multiple superconducting phases preserve or break time-reversal symmetry (TRS). We tested for asymmetry in the phase shift between left and right circularly polarized light reflected from a single crystal of UPt$_3$ at normal incidence, finding that this so-called polar Kerr effect appears only below the lower of the two zero-field superconducting transition temperatures. Our results provide evidence for broken TRS in the low-temperature superconducting phase of UPt$_3$, implying a complex two-component order parameter for superconductivity in this system.
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