A unique property of size-resolved metal nanocluster particles is their superatom-like electronic shell structure. The shell levels are highly degenerate, and it has been predicted that this can enable exceptionally strong superconducting-type electr
on pair correlations in certain clusters composed of just tens to hundreds of atoms. Here we report on the observation of a possible spectroscopic signature of such an effect. A bulge-like feature appears in the photoionization yield curve of a free cold aluminum cluster and shows a rapid rise as the temperature approaches approximately 100 K. This is an unusual effect, not previously reported for clusters. Its characteristics are consistent with an increase in the effective density of states accompanying a pairing transition, which suggests a high-temperature superconducting state with Tc>~100 K. Our results highlight the promise of metal nanoclusters as high-Tc building blocks for materials and networks.
Cryogenic cluster beam experiments have provided crucial insights into the evolution of the metallic state from the atom to the bulk. Surprisingly, one of the most fundamental metallic properties, the ability of a metal to efficiently screen electric
fields, is still poorly understood in small clusters. Theory has predicted that many small Na clusters are unable to screen charge inhomogeneities and thus have permanent dipole moments. High precision electric deflection experiments on cryogenically cooled Na$_N$ ($N<200$) clusters show that the electric dipole moments are at least an order of magnitude smaller than predicted, and are consistent with zero, as expected for a metal. The polarizabilities of Na clusters also show metal spheroid behavior, with fine size oscillations caused by the shell structure.
