Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals
Motivated by the experimental detection of superconductivity in the low-carrier density half-Heusler compound YPtBi, we study the pairing instabilities of three-dimensional strongly spin-orbit coupled semimetals with a quadratic band touching point. In these semimetals the electronic structure at th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115245 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3706-8503 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0543-6298 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7809-8157 |
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| author | Savary, Lucile Ruhman, Yehonatan Venderbos, Joern Willem Friedrich Fu, Liang Lee, Patrick A |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Savary, Lucile Ruhman, Yehonatan Venderbos, Joern Willem Friedrich Fu, Liang Lee, Patrick A |
| author_sort | Savary, Lucile |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Motivated by the experimental detection of superconductivity in the low-carrier density half-Heusler compound YPtBi, we study the pairing instabilities of three-dimensional strongly spin-orbit coupled semimetals with a quadratic band touching point. In these semimetals the electronic structure at the Fermi energy is described by spin j=3/2 quasiparticles, which are fundamentally different from those in ordinary metals with spin j=1/2. For both local and nonlocal pairing channels in j=3/2 materials we develop a general approach to analyzing pairing instabilities, thereby providing the computational tools needed to investigate the physics of these systems beyond phenomenological considerations. Furthermore, applying our method to a generic density-density interaction, we establish that: (i) The pairing strengths in the different symmetry channels uniquely encode the j=3/2 nature of the Fermi surface band structure—a manifestation of the fundamental difference with ordinary metals. (ii) The leading odd-parity pairing instabilities are different for electron doping and hole doping. Finally, we argue that polar phonons, i.e., Coulomb interactions mediated by the long-ranged electric polarization of the optical phonon modes, provide a coupling strength large enough to account for a Kelvin-range transition temperature in the s-wave channel, and are likely to play an important role in the overall attraction in non-s-wave channels. Moreover, the explicit calculation of the coupling strengths allows us to conclude that the two largest non-s-wave contributions occur in nonlocal channels, in contrast with what has been commonly assumed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:51:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/115245 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:51:15Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1152452022-10-02T04:36:01Z Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals Savary, Lucile Ruhman, Yehonatan Venderbos, Joern Willem Friedrich Fu, Liang Lee, Patrick A Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Savary, Lucile Ruhman, Yehonatan Venderbos, Joern Willem Friedrich Fu, Liang Lee, Patrick A Motivated by the experimental detection of superconductivity in the low-carrier density half-Heusler compound YPtBi, we study the pairing instabilities of three-dimensional strongly spin-orbit coupled semimetals with a quadratic band touching point. In these semimetals the electronic structure at the Fermi energy is described by spin j=3/2 quasiparticles, which are fundamentally different from those in ordinary metals with spin j=1/2. For both local and nonlocal pairing channels in j=3/2 materials we develop a general approach to analyzing pairing instabilities, thereby providing the computational tools needed to investigate the physics of these systems beyond phenomenological considerations. Furthermore, applying our method to a generic density-density interaction, we establish that: (i) The pairing strengths in the different symmetry channels uniquely encode the j=3/2 nature of the Fermi surface band structure—a manifestation of the fundamental difference with ordinary metals. (ii) The leading odd-parity pairing instabilities are different for electron doping and hole doping. Finally, we argue that polar phonons, i.e., Coulomb interactions mediated by the long-ranged electric polarization of the optical phonon modes, provide a coupling strength large enough to account for a Kelvin-range transition temperature in the s-wave channel, and are likely to play an important role in the overall attraction in non-s-wave channels. Moreover, the explicit calculation of the coupling strengths allows us to conclude that the two largest non-s-wave contributions occur in nonlocal channels, in contrast with what has been commonly assumed. Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. EPiQS Initiative (Grant GBMF4303) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant PHY-1125915) United States. Department of Energy (Grant FG02-03ER46076) United States. Department of Energy. Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering (Award DE-SC0010526) 2018-05-07T16:57:50Z 2018-05-07T16:57:50Z 2017-12 2017-12 2018-02-07T20:55:51Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2469-9950 2469-9969 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115245 Savary, Lucile, et al. “Superconductivity in Three-Dimensional Spin-Orbit Coupled Semimetals.” Physical Review B, vol. 96, no. 21, Dec. 2017. © 2018 American Physical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3706-8503 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0543-6298 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7809-8157 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.214514 Physical Review B Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society |
| spellingShingle | Savary, Lucile Ruhman, Yehonatan Venderbos, Joern Willem Friedrich Fu, Liang Lee, Patrick A Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title | Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title_full | Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title_fullStr | Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title_short | Superconductivity in three-dimensional spin-orbit coupled semimetals |
| title_sort | superconductivity in three dimensional spin orbit coupled semimetals |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115245 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3706-8503 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0543-6298 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7809-8157 |
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