Uniaxial-strain Control of Nematic Superconductivity in Sr${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$

Abstract

Nematic states are characterized by rotational symmetry breaking without translational ordering. Recently, nematic superconductivity, in which the superconducting gap spontaneously lifts the rotational symmetry of the lattice, has been discovered. However the pairing mechanism and the mechanism determining the nematic orientation remain unresolved. A first step is to demonstrate control of the nematicity, through application of an external symmetry-breaking field, to determine the sign and strength of coupling to the lattice. Here, we report for the first time control of the nematic orientation of the superconductivity of Sr${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$, through externally-applied uniaxial stress. The suppression of subdomains indicates that it is the ${\Delta }_{4y}$ state that is most favoured under compression along the basal Bi-Bi bonds. These results provide an inevitable step towards understanding the microscopic origin of the unique topological nematic superconductivity.

arXiv commentMain text: 18 pages (incl. reference list), 4 figures. Supplementary text: 20 pages, 15 figures

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• Visualization of the strain-induced topological phase transition in a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor TaSe3
• $Z_3$-vestigial nematic order due to superconducting fluctuations in the doped topological insulator Nb${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$ and Cu${}_x$Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Charge-$4e$ superconductivity from nematic superconductors in 2D and 3D
• Nematic Superconductivity and Its Critical Vestigial Phases in the Quasi-crystal
• Elastocaloric signatures of symmetric and antisymmetric strain-tuning of quadrupolar and magnetic phases in DyB2C2
• Thermoelectric Transport in Holographic Quantum Matter under Shear Strain
• Phonon-induced rotation of the electronic nematic director in superconducting Bi${}_2$Se${}_3$
• Strain-tuned quantum criticality in electronic Potts-nematic systems
• The absence of Ginzburg-Landau mechanism for vestigial order in the normal phase above a two-component superconductor
• Quasiparticle interference in doped topological insulators with nematic superconductivity
• Odd-frequency pairs and anomalous proximity effect in nematic and chiral states of superconducting topological insulators
• Investigation of superconducting properties and possible nematic superconductivity in self-doped BiCh2-based superconductor CeOBiS1.7Se0.3
• Nematic order driven by superconducting correlations
• Domain Control by Adjusting Anisotropic Stress in Pyrochlore Oxide Cd2Re2O7
• Nanoscale strain manipulation of smectic susceptibility in kagome superconductors
• Interaction between spin and Abrikosov vortices in doped topological insulators
• On the existence of nematic-superconducting states in the Ginzburg-Landau regime
• Boosting superconductivity in ultrathin YBa${}_2$Cu${}_3$O${}_{7-\delta }$ films via nanofaceted substrates
• Anomalous Josephson Hall effect in doped topological insulators with the nematic superconductivity