Imaging half-unit-cell Cooper-pair density waves in monolayer 1T$^{\prime}$-MoTe$_2$

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cheng, Fang-Jun, Lou, Cong-Cong, Chen, Ai-Xi, Wei, Li-Xuan, Liu, Yu, Deng, Bo-Yuan, Li, Fangsen, Wang, Ziqiang, Xue, Qi-Kun, Ma, Xu-Cun, Song, Can-Li
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Published: 2024
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author Cheng, Fang-Jun
Lou, Cong-Cong
Chen, Ai-Xi
Wei, Li-Xuan
Liu, Yu
Deng, Bo-Yuan
Li, Fangsen
Wang, Ziqiang
Xue, Qi-Kun
Ma, Xu-Cun
Song, Can-Li
author_facet Cheng, Fang-Jun
Lou, Cong-Cong
Chen, Ai-Xi
Wei, Li-Xuan
Liu, Yu
Deng, Bo-Yuan
Li, Fangsen
Wang, Ziqiang
Xue, Qi-Kun
Ma, Xu-Cun
Song, Can-Li
contents Unconventional superconductors that spontaneously break space-group symmetries of their underlying crystal lattice are distinguished by spatial modulations of the superconducting order parameter. These states have recently captured significant attention in various strongly correlated materials, where the breaking of translational or intra-unit-cell symmetries results in the emergence of pair density waves with wavelengths extending across one or multiple unit cells. Here, we employ a spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscope to identify robust half-unit-cell modulations of the superconducting gap magnitude, coherence strength and subgap states in tunable 1T$^{\prime}$-MoTe$_2$ monolayer. The modulations are oriented perpendicular to the zigzag Mo chains and coexist with three-unit-cell primary pair density wave modulations along the Mo chains, both of which attenuate with increasing temperature and the application of external magnetic fields. Importantly, we find that the superconductivity modulations are strongly linked to unconventional electron pairing mechanisms, which significantly deviate from the Cooper pairing observed in traditional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductors. Our results advance the knowledge of Cooper-pair density modulations and the intricate interplay with other symmetry-breaking states in strongly correlated superconductors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_11040
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Imaging half-unit-cell Cooper-pair density waves in monolayer 1T$^{\prime}$-MoTe$_2$
Cheng, Fang-Jun
Lou, Cong-Cong
Chen, Ai-Xi
Wei, Li-Xuan
Liu, Yu
Deng, Bo-Yuan
Li, Fangsen
Wang, Ziqiang
Xue, Qi-Kun
Ma, Xu-Cun
Song, Can-Li
Superconductivity
Materials Science
Unconventional superconductors that spontaneously break space-group symmetries of their underlying crystal lattice are distinguished by spatial modulations of the superconducting order parameter. These states have recently captured significant attention in various strongly correlated materials, where the breaking of translational or intra-unit-cell symmetries results in the emergence of pair density waves with wavelengths extending across one or multiple unit cells. Here, we employ a spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscope to identify robust half-unit-cell modulations of the superconducting gap magnitude, coherence strength and subgap states in tunable 1T$^{\prime}$-MoTe$_2$ monolayer. The modulations are oriented perpendicular to the zigzag Mo chains and coexist with three-unit-cell primary pair density wave modulations along the Mo chains, both of which attenuate with increasing temperature and the application of external magnetic fields. Importantly, we find that the superconductivity modulations are strongly linked to unconventional electron pairing mechanisms, which significantly deviate from the Cooper pairing observed in traditional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductors. Our results advance the knowledge of Cooper-pair density modulations and the intricate interplay with other symmetry-breaking states in strongly correlated superconductors.
title Imaging half-unit-cell Cooper-pair density waves in monolayer 1T$^{\prime}$-MoTe$_2$
topic Superconductivity
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.11040