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Register a new userNematic superconductivity in doped Bi2Se3 topological superconductors
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Authors
Shingo Yonezawa
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Nematic superconductivity is a novel class of superconductivity characterized by spontaneous rotational-symmetry breaking in the superconducting gap amplitude and/or Cooper-pair spins with respect to the underlying lattice symmetry. Doped Bi2Se3 superconductors, such as CuxBi2Se3, SrxBi2Se3, and NbxBi2Se3, are considered as candidates for nematic superconductors, in addition to the anticipated topological superconductivity. Recently, various bulk probes, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, specific heat, magnetotransport, magnetic torque, and magnetization, have consistently revealed two-fold symmetric behavior in their in-plane magnetic-field-direction dependence, although the underlying crystal lattice possesses three-fold rotational symmetry. More recently, nematic superconductivity is directly visualized using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. In this short review, we summarize the current researches on the nematic behavior in superconducting doped Bi2Se3 systems, and discuss issues and perspectives.
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After the discovery of nematic topological superconductivity in CuxBi2Se3, carrier-doped topological insulators are established as a fertile ground for topological superconductors. The superconductor Cu1.5(PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)6 (CPSBS) contains Bi2Se3 blocks as a constitutional unit, but its superconducting gap appears to have nodes [S. Sasaki et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 220504 (2014)], which is in contrast to the fully-opened gap in CuxBi2Se3 and the relation between the two superconductors remained an open question. Here we report our observation of clear two-fold symmetry in the in-plane magnetic-field-direction dependencies of the upper critical field and of the specific heat of CPSBS, where the direction of the maxima, which is different from that in CuxBi2Se3, indicates that the gap nodes are located in the mirror plane of the crystal lattice. This means that the topological nematic state with mirror-symmetry-protected nodes is realized in CPSBS.
Strontium intercalation between van der Waals bonded layers of topological insulator Bi2Se3 is found to induce superconductivity with a maximum Tc of 2.9 K. Transport measurement on single crystal of optimally doped sample Sr0.1Bi2Se3 shows weak anisotropy (1.5) and upper critical field Hc2(0) equals to 2.1 T for magnetic field applied per-pendicular to c -axis of the sample. The Ginzburg-Landau coherence lengths are Xi-ab = 15.3 {AA} and Xi_c = 10.2 {AA}. The lower critical field and zero temperature penetration depth Lambda(0) are estimated to be 0.35 mT and 1550 nm respectively. Hall and Seebeck measurements confirm the dominance of electronic conduction and the carrier concentration is surprisingly low (n = 1.85 x 10^19 cm-3) at 10 K indicating possibility of unconventional superconductivity.
A nematic topological superconductor has an order parameter symmetry, which spontaneously breaks the crystalline symmetry in its superconducting state. This state can be observed, for example, by thermodynamic or upper critical field experiments in which a magnetic field is rotated with respect to the crystalline axes. The corresponding physical quantity then directly reflects the symmetry of the order parameter. We present a study on the superconducting upper critical field of the Nb-doped topological insulator NbxBi2Se3 for various magnetic field orientations parallel and perpendicular to the basal plane of the Bi2Se3 layers. The data were obtained by two complementary experimental techniques, magnetoresistance and DC magnetization, on three different single crystalline samples of the same batch. Both methods and all samples show with perfect agreement that the in-plane upper critical fields clearly demonstrate a two-fold symmetry that breaks the three-fold crystal symmetry. The two-fold symmetry is also found in the absolute value of the magnetization of the initial zero-field-cooled branch of the hysteresis loop and in the value of the thermodynamic contribution above the irreversibility field, but also in the irreversible properties such as the value of the characteristic irreversibility field and in the width of the hysteresis loop. This provides strong experimental evidence that Nb-doped Bi2Se3 is a nematic topological superconductor similar to the Cu- and Sr-doped Bi2Se3.
This review introduces known candidates for bulk topological superconductors and categorizes them with time-reversal symmetry (TRS) and gap structures. Recent studies on two archetypal topological superconductors, TRS-broken Sr2RuO4 and TRS-preserved CuxBi2Se3, are described in some detail.
The importance of antiferromagnetic fluctuations are widely acknowledged in most unconventional superconductors. In addition, cuprates and iron pnictides often exhibit unidirectional (nematic) electronic correlations, including stripe and orbital orders, whose fluctuations may also play a key role for electron pairing. However, these nematic correlations are intertwined with antiferromagnetic or charge orders, preventing us to identify the essential role of nematic fluctuations. This calls for new materials having only nematicity without competing or coexisting orders. Here we report systematic elastoresistance measurements in FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ superconductors, which, unlike other iron-based families, exhibit an electronic nematic order without accompanying antiferromagnetic order. We find that the nematic transition temperature decreases with sulphur content $x$, whereas the nematic fluctuations are strongly enhanced. Near $xapprox0.17$, the nematic susceptibility diverges towards absolute zero, revealing a nematic quantum critical point. This highlights FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ as a unique nonmagnetic system suitable for studying the impact of nematicity on superconductivity.
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