No Arabic abstract
Beyond the conventional electron pairing mediated by phonons, high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates is believed to stem from quantum spin liquid (QSL). The unconventional superconductivity by doping a spin liquid/Mott insulator, is a long-sought goal but a principal challenge in condensed matter physics because of the lack of an ideal QSL platform. Here we report the pressure induced metallization and possible unconventional superconductivity in $NaYbSe_{2}$, which belongs to a large and ideal family of triangular lattice spin liquid we revealed recently and is evidenced to possess a QSL ground state. The charge gap of NaYbSe2 is gradually reduced by applying pressures, and at ~20 GPa the crystal jumps into a superconducting (SC) phase with Tc ~ 5.8 K even before the insulating gap is completely closed. The metallization is confirmed by further high-pressure experiments but the sign of superconductivity is not well repeated. No symmetry breaking accompanies the SC transition, as indicated by X-ray diffraction and low-temperature Raman experiments under high pressures. This intrinsically connects QSL and SC phases, and suggests an unconventional superconductivity developed from QSL. We further observed the magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition which is analogous to that found in the underdoped cuprate superconductor $La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}$. The study is expected to inspire interest in exploring new types of superconductors and sheds light into the intriguing physics from a spin liquid/Mott insulator to a superconductor.
The recently discovered Dirac and Weyl semimetals are new members of topological materials. Starting from them, topological superconductivity may be achieved, e.g. by carrier doping or applying pressure. Here we report high-pressure resistance and X-ray diffraction study of the three-dimensional topological Dirac semimetal Cd3As2. Superconductivity with Tc ~ 2.0 K is observed at 8.5 GPa. The Tc keeps increasing to about 4.0 K at 21.3 GPa, then shows a nearly constant pressure dependence up to the highest pressure 50.9 GPa. The X-ray diffraction measurements reveal a structure phase transition around 3.5 GPa. Our observation of superconductivity in pressurized topological Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 provides a new candidate for topological superconductor, as argued in a recent point contact study and a theoretical work.
Topological nodal-line semimetals (TNLSMs) are materials whose conduction and valence bands cross each other, meeting a topologically-protected closed loop rather than discrete points in the Brillouin zone (BZ). The anticipated properties for TNLSMs include drumhead-like nearly flat surface states, unique Landau energy levels, special collective modes, long-range Coulomb interactions, or the possibility of realizing high-temperature superconductivity. Recently, SrAs3 has been theoretically proposed and then experimentally confirmed to be a TNLSM. Here, we report high-pressure experiments on SrAs3, identifying a Lifshitz transition below 1 GPa and a superconducting transition accompanied by a structural phase transition above 20 GPa. A topological crystalline insulator (TCI) state is revealed by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the emergent high-pressure phase. As the counterpart of topological insulators, TCIs possess metallic boundary states protected by crystal symmetry, rather than time reversal. In consideration of topological surface states (TSSs) and helical spin texture observed in the high-pressure state of SrAs3, the superconducting state may be induced in the surface states, and is most likely topologically nontrivial, making pressurized SrAs3 a strong candidate for topological superconductor.
High-pressure electrical resistance measurements have been performed on single crystal Ba0.5Sr0.5Fe2As2 platelets to pressures of 16 GPa and temperatures down to 10 K using designer diamond anvils under quasi-hydrostatic conditions with an insulating steatite pressure medium. The resistance measurements show evidence of pressure-induced superconductivity with an onset transition temperature at ~31 K and zero resistance at ~22 K for a pressure of 3.3 GPa. The transition temperature decreases gradually with increasing in pressure before completely disappearing for pressures above 12 GPa. The present results provide experimental evidence that a solid solution of two 122-type materials, e.g., Ba1-x.SrxFe2As2 (0 < x <1), can also exhibit superconductivity under high pressure
Varying the superconducting transition temperature over a large scale of a cuprate superconductor is a necessary step for identifying the unsettled mechanism of superconductivity. Chemical doping or element substitution has been proven to be effective but also brings about lattice disorder. Such disorder can completely destroy superconductivity even at a fixed doping level. Pressure has been thought to be the most clean method for tuning superconductivity. However, pressure-induced increase of disorder was recognized from recent experiments. By choosing a disordered Tl$_{2}$Ba$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+delta}$ at the optimal doping, we perform single-crystal x-ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility measurements at high pressures. The obtained structural data provides evidence for the robust feature for the disorder of this material in the pressure range studied. This feature ensures the pressure effects on superconductivity distinguishable from the disorder. The derived parabolic-like behavior of the transition temperature with pressure up to near 30 GPa, having a maximum around 7 GPa, offers a platform for testing any realistic theoretical models in a nearly constant disorder environment. Such a behavior can be understood when considering the carrier concentration and the pairing interaction strength as two pressure intrinsic variables.
Quantum spin liquids (QSLs), in which spins are highly entangled, have been considered a groundwork for generating exotic superconductivity.Despite numerous efforts, superconductivity emerging from QSLs has been unrealized in actual materials due to the difficulties in stabilizing QSL states with metallic conductivity.Recently, an organic compound, $kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_4$Hg$_{2.89}$Br$_8$, with a nearly regular triangular lattice of molecular dimers was recognized as a candidate for doped QSLs. In this study, we report an unusual superconducting phase of $kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_4$Hg$_{2.89}$Br$_8$: unexpectedly large ratios of the upper critical field to the critical temperature $H_{rm c2}$/$T_{rm c}$ in fields not only parallel but also perpendicular to the two-dimensional conducting layers and a very wide region of fluctuating superconductivity above $T_{rm c}$.Our results reveal that these peculiarities arise from strong electron correlations and possible quantum criticality unique to the doped QSL state, leading to a heavy mass of itinerant carriers and a large superconducting energy gap.