Mechanical control of crystal symmetry and superconductivity in Weyl semimetal MoTe${}_2$

Abstract

The non-centrosymmetric Weyl semimetal candidate, MoTe${}_2$ was investigated through neutron diffraction and transport measurements at pressures up to 1.5 GPa and at temperatures down to 40 mK. Centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric structural phases were found to coexist in the superconducting state. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the strength of the electron-phonon coupling is similar for both crystal structures. Furthermore, it was found that by controlling non-hydrostatic components of stress, it is possible to mechanically control the ground state crystal structure. This allows for the tuning of crystal symmetry in the superconducting phase from centrosymmetric to non-centrosymmetric. DFT calculations support this strain control of crystal structure. This mechanical control of crystal symmetry gives a route to tuning the band topology of MoTe${}_2$ and possibly the topology of the superconducting state.

arXiv comment16 pages, 4 figures, supplement included

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Cited by in corpus (26)

• Layer-dependent spin-orbit torques generated by the centrosymmetric transition metal dichalcogenide $\beta$-MoTe${}_2$
• Engineering Weyl phases and nonlinear Hall effects in T${}_d$-MoTe${}_2$
• Polar and phase domain walls with conducting interfacial states in a Weyl semimetal MoTe2
• Ab initio approach to the elastic, electronic, and optical properties of MoTe2: A topological Weyl semimetal
• Strain-engineered Majorana Zero Energy Modes and ϕ0 Josephson State in Black Phosphorus
• Fraunhofer response and supercurrent spin switching in black phosphorus with strain and disorder
• Self-biased current, magnetic interference response, and superconducting vortices in tilted Weyl semimetals with disorder
• T${}_d$ to 1T${}^{\prime }$ structural phase transition in WTe${}_2$ Weyl semimetal
• Evolution of Pair Correlation Symmetries and Supercurrent Reversal in Tilted Weyl Semimetals
• Spin-resolved electronic response to the phase transition in MoTe${}_2$
• Detection of hole pockets in the candidate type-II Weyl semimetal MoTe${}_2$ from Shubnikov-de Haas quantum oscillations
• Control of superconducting pairing symmetries in monolayer black phosphorus
• Appearance of T${}_d^{\ast }$ phase across the T${}_d$-1T${}^{\prime }$ phase boundary in Weyl semimetal MoTe${}_2$
• Angular dependence of the upper critical field in the high-pressure $1T^{\prime }$ phase of MoTe${}_2$
• Superconducting properties of MoTe${}_2$ from the $abinitio$ anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg theory
• Evolution of the structural transition in Mo${}_{1-x}$W${}_x$Te${}_2$
• Persistence of Monoclinic Crystal Structure in Three-Dimensional Second-Order Topological Insulator Candidate 1T'-MoTe2 Thin Flake without Structural Phase transition
• Pressure-induced creation and annihilation of Weyl points in Td- and 1T"-Mo0.5W0.5Te2
• Reshaped Weyl fermionic dispersions driven by Coulomb interactions in MoTe2
• Drastic enhancement of the superconducting temperature in type-II Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe${}_2$ via biaxial strain
• Pressure induced topological quantum phase transition in Weyl semimetal T_d-MoTe_2
• Superconducting pairing symmetry in MoTe${}_2$
• Highly anisotropic Drude-weight-reduction and enhanced linear-dichroism in van der Waals Weyl semimetal Td-MoTe2 with coherent interlayer electronic transport
• Suppression of both superconductivity and structural transition in hole-doped MoTe${}_2$ induced by Ta substitution
• Large change of interlayer vibrational coupling with stacking in Mo${}_{1-x}$W${}_x$Te${}_2$
• Point-contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy of layered superconductors with device-integrated diamond anvil cells