Observation of single-quantum vortex splitting in the Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ superconductor

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Hauptverfasser: Zhou, Q. Z., Chen, B. R., Xiang, B. K., Timoshuk, I., Garaud, J., Li, Y., Liang, K. Y., He, Q. S., Li, Z. J., Zhang, P. H., Yao, K. Z., Yao, H. X., Babaev, E., Grinenko, V., Wang, Y. H.
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Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Zhou, Q. Z.
Chen, B. R.
Xiang, B. K.
Timoshuk, I.
Garaud, J.
Li, Y.
Liang, K. Y.
He, Q. S.
Li, Z. J.
Zhang, P. H.
Yao, K. Z.
Yao, H. X.
Babaev, E.
Grinenko, V.
Wang, Y. H.
author_facet Zhou, Q. Z.
Chen, B. R.
Xiang, B. K.
Timoshuk, I.
Garaud, J.
Li, Y.
Liang, K. Y.
He, Q. S.
Li, Z. J.
Zhang, P. H.
Yao, K. Z.
Yao, H. X.
Babaev, E.
Grinenko, V.
Wang, Y. H.
contents Since their theoretical discovery more than a half-century ago, vortices observed in bulk superconductors have carried a quantized value of magnetic flux determined only by fundamental constants. A recent experiment reported 'unquantized' quantum vortices carrying the same fraction of flux quantum in Ba$_{0.23}$K$_{0.77}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ in a small temperature range below its superconducting critical temperature ($T_C$). Here, we use scanning superconducting quantum interference device (sSQUID) microscopy with improved sensitivity to investigate the genesis of fractional vortices in Ba$_{0.23}$K$_{0.77}$Fe$_2$As$_2$. We report the direct observation of a single-flux quantum vortex splitting into two different fractions with increasing temperature. The flux of the two fractions has opposite dependence on temperature, while the total flux sums up to one flux quantum despite their spatial separation. Overall, our study shows the existence of different fractional vortices and their stability in temperature ranging from 0.1 to 0.99 $T_C$. Besides the implications of this observation for the fundamental question of quantum vorticity, the discovery of these objects paves the way for the new platform for anyon quasiparticles and applications for fractional fluxonics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_05902
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Observation of single-quantum vortex splitting in the Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ superconductor
Zhou, Q. Z.
Chen, B. R.
Xiang, B. K.
Timoshuk, I.
Garaud, J.
Li, Y.
Liang, K. Y.
He, Q. S.
Li, Z. J.
Zhang, P. H.
Yao, K. Z.
Yao, H. X.
Babaev, E.
Grinenko, V.
Wang, Y. H.
Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Since their theoretical discovery more than a half-century ago, vortices observed in bulk superconductors have carried a quantized value of magnetic flux determined only by fundamental constants. A recent experiment reported 'unquantized' quantum vortices carrying the same fraction of flux quantum in Ba$_{0.23}$K$_{0.77}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ in a small temperature range below its superconducting critical temperature ($T_C$). Here, we use scanning superconducting quantum interference device (sSQUID) microscopy with improved sensitivity to investigate the genesis of fractional vortices in Ba$_{0.23}$K$_{0.77}$Fe$_2$As$_2$. We report the direct observation of a single-flux quantum vortex splitting into two different fractions with increasing temperature. The flux of the two fractions has opposite dependence on temperature, while the total flux sums up to one flux quantum despite their spatial separation. Overall, our study shows the existence of different fractional vortices and their stability in temperature ranging from 0.1 to 0.99 $T_C$. Besides the implications of this observation for the fundamental question of quantum vorticity, the discovery of these objects paves the way for the new platform for anyon quasiparticles and applications for fractional fluxonics.
title Observation of single-quantum vortex splitting in the Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ superconductor
topic Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.05902