Revealing inter-band electron pairing in a superconductor with spin-orbit coupling

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Zaldívar, Javier, Ortuzar, Jon, Alvarado, Miguel, Trivini, Stefano, Baumard, Julie, Rubio-Verdú, Carmen, Herrera, Edwin, Suderow, Hermann, Yeyati, Alfredo Levy, Bergeret, F. Sebastian, Pascual, Jose Ignacio
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Zaldívar, Javier
Ortuzar, Jon
Alvarado, Miguel
Trivini, Stefano
Baumard, Julie
Rubio-Verdú, Carmen
Herrera, Edwin
Suderow, Hermann
Yeyati, Alfredo Levy
Bergeret, F. Sebastian
Pascual, Jose Ignacio
author_facet Zaldívar, Javier
Ortuzar, Jon
Alvarado, Miguel
Trivini, Stefano
Baumard, Julie
Rubio-Verdú, Carmen
Herrera, Edwin
Suderow, Hermann
Yeyati, Alfredo Levy
Bergeret, F. Sebastian
Pascual, Jose Ignacio
contents Most superconducting mechanisms pair electrons within the same band, forming spin singlets. However, the discovery of multi-band superconductivity has opened new scenarios for pairing, particularly in systems with strong spin-orbit coupling. Here, we reveal inter-band pairing in the superconductor \bipd\ by mapping the amplitude of sub-gap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states around Vanadium adatoms deposited on its surface. The surface of \bipd\ is characterized by spin-helical-like bands near the Fermi level. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals anisotropic YSR amplitude oscillations around the impurity, driven by spin-conserving Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference (BQPI). Analysis of the BQPI patterns at the YSR energy exposes inter-band pairing in this material. Interestingly, only a small subset of all possible inter-band scattering processes observed in the normal state contribute to the BQPI patterns. Combining experimental data and theory, we demonstrate that the observed band selectivity results from the hybridization of the band coupled with the impurity with other bands. Our findings reveal unconventional pairing mechanisms in \bipd\ and highlight the crucial role of spin-orbit interactions in their formation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_03326
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revealing inter-band electron pairing in a superconductor with spin-orbit coupling
Zaldívar, Javier
Ortuzar, Jon
Alvarado, Miguel
Trivini, Stefano
Baumard, Julie
Rubio-Verdú, Carmen
Herrera, Edwin
Suderow, Hermann
Yeyati, Alfredo Levy
Bergeret, F. Sebastian
Pascual, Jose Ignacio
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Superconductivity
Most superconducting mechanisms pair electrons within the same band, forming spin singlets. However, the discovery of multi-band superconductivity has opened new scenarios for pairing, particularly in systems with strong spin-orbit coupling. Here, we reveal inter-band pairing in the superconductor \bipd\ by mapping the amplitude of sub-gap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states around Vanadium adatoms deposited on its surface. The surface of \bipd\ is characterized by spin-helical-like bands near the Fermi level. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals anisotropic YSR amplitude oscillations around the impurity, driven by spin-conserving Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference (BQPI). Analysis of the BQPI patterns at the YSR energy exposes inter-band pairing in this material. Interestingly, only a small subset of all possible inter-band scattering processes observed in the normal state contribute to the BQPI patterns. Combining experimental data and theory, we demonstrate that the observed band selectivity results from the hybridization of the band coupled with the impurity with other bands. Our findings reveal unconventional pairing mechanisms in \bipd\ and highlight the crucial role of spin-orbit interactions in their formation.
title Revealing inter-band electron pairing in a superconductor with spin-orbit coupling
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Superconductivity
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.03326