Superconducting ground state of nonsymmorphic superconducting compound Zr${}_2$Ir

Abstract

The nonsymmorphic Zr${}_2$Ir alloy is a possible topological semimetal candidate material and as such may be part of an exotic class of superconductors. Zr${}_2$Ir is a superconductor with a transition temperature of 7.4 K with critical fields of 19.6(3) mT and 3.79(3) T, as determined by heat capacity and magnetisation. Zero field muon spin relaxation measurements show that time-reversal symmetry is preserved in these materials. The specific heat and transverse field muon spin rotation measurements rule out any possibility to have a nodal or anisotropic superconducting gap, revealing a conventional s-wave nature in the superconducting ground state. Therefore, this system is found to be conventional nonsymmorphic superconductor, with time-reversal symmetry being preserved and an isotropic superconducting gap.

7 Pages, 10 figres

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