Time reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity in topological materials

Abstract

Fascinating phenomena have been known to arise from the Dirac theory of relativistic quantum mechanics, which describes high energy particles having linear dispersion relations. Electrons in solids usually have non-relativistic dispersion relations but their quantum excitations can mimic relativistic effects. In topological insulators, electrons have both a linear dispersion relation, the Dirac behavior, on the surface and a non-relativistic energy dispersion in the bulk. Topological phases of matter have attracted much interest, particularly broken-symmetry phases in topological insulator materials. Here, we report by Nb doping that the topological insulator Bi2Se3 can be turned into a bulk type-II superconductor while the Dirac surface dispersion in the normal state is preserved. A macroscopic magnetic ordering appears below the superconducting critical temperature of 3.2 K indicating a spontaneous spin rotation symmetry breaking of the Nb magnetic moments. Even though such a magnetic order may appear at the edge of the superconductor, it is mediated by superconductivity and presents a novel phase of matter which gives rise to a zero-field Hall effect.

arXiv comment18 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (32)

• Nematic superconductivity in doped Bi2Se3 topological superconductors
• Identification of nematic superconductivity from the upper critical field
• Evidence of nodes in the order parameter of the superconducting doped topological insulator Nb${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ via penetration depth measurements
• Nematic Skyrmions in Odd-Parity Superconductors
• Generalized Anderson's theorem for superconductors derived from topological insulators
• Topological Crystalline Materials of $J=3/2$ Electrons: Antiperovskites, Dirac points, and High Winding Topological Superconductivity
• Uniaxial-strain Control of Nematic Superconductivity in Sr${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• High-pressure study of the basal-plane anisotropy of the upper critical field of the topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3
• Nanocalorimetric Evidence for Nematic Superconductivity in the Doped Topological Insulator Sr${}_{0.1}$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Superconductivity-Induced Ferromagnetism and Weyl Superconductivity in Nb-doped Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Possible structural origin of superconductivity in Sr-doped Bi2Se3
• Evidence for singular-phonon-induced nematic superconductivity in a topological superconductor candidate Sr${}_{0.1}$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Direct Evidence for Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in Topological Superconductor Sr0.1Bi2Se3
• Time-reversal invariant and fully gapped unconventional superconducting state in the bulk of the topological Nb0.25Bi2Se3
• Superconductivity, pairing symmetry, and disorder in the doped topological insulator Sn${}_{1-x}$In${}_x$Te for x $\ge$ 0.10
• Nematic superconductivity in Cu${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$: The surface Andreev bound states
• Muon spin rotation study of the topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3
• Twofold symmetry of proximity-induced superconductivity in Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$/Bi${}_2$Sr${}_2$CaCu${}_2$O${}_{8+\delta }$ heterostructures revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy
• $\require{mhchem}$Misfit phase $\ce{(BiSe)_{$1.10$}NbSe2}$ as the origin of superconductivity in nobium-doped bismuth selenide
• Crystal structure and distortion of superconducting Cu${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Spontaneous strain and magnetization in doped topological insulators with nematic and chiral superconductivity
• An increase in $T_c$ under hydrostatic pressure in the superconducting doped topological insulator Nb${}_{0.25}$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Scanning tunneling spectroscopy investigations of superconducting-doped topological insulators: Experimental pitfalls and results
• Anisotropic Upper Critical Field, Seebeck and Nernst Coefficient in Nb0.20Bi2Se3 Topological Superconductor
• Pauli paramagnetism of triplet Cooper pairs in a nematic superconductor
• Superconducting and normal-state anisotropy of the doped topological insulator Sr${}_{0.1}$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Sn2Pd: a possible superconducting material with topological surface states
• Theory of Topological Superconductivity in Doped IV-VI Semiconductors
• Quasi-particles, thermodynamic consistency and the gap equation
• Superconductivity in centrosymmetric topological superconductor candidate TaC
• Superconductivity below 2.5K in Nb0.25Bi2Se3 topological insulator single crystal
• Bulk Superconductivity below 6K in PdBi2Te3 topological single crystal