Evidence for singular-phonon-induced nematic superconductivity in a topological superconductor candidate Sr0.1Bi2Se3

Jinghui Wang, Kejing Ran, Shichao Li, Zhen Ma, Song Bao, Zhengwei Cai, Youtian Zhang, Kenji Nakajima, Seiko Ohira-Kawamura, P. Čermák, A. Schneidewind, Sergey Y. Savrasov, Xiangang Wan () and Jinsheng Wen ()
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Jinghui Wang: Nanjing University
Kejing Ran: Nanjing University
Shichao Li: Nanjing University
Zhen Ma: Nanjing University
Song Bao: Nanjing University
Zhengwei Cai: Nanjing University
Youtian Zhang: Nanjing University
Kenji Nakajima: Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Seiko Ohira-Kawamura: Japan Atomic Energy Agency
P. Čermák: Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
A. Schneidewind: Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Sergey Y. Savrasov: University of California
Xiangang Wan: Nanjing University
Jinsheng Wen: Nanjing University

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Superconductivity mediated by phonons is typically conventional, exhibiting a momentum-independent s-wave pairing function, due to the isotropic interactions between electrons and phonons along different crystalline directions. Here, by performing inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a superconducting single crystal of Sr0.1Bi2Se3, a prime candidate for realizing topological superconductivity by doping the topological insulator Bi2Se3, we find that there exist highly anisotropic phonons, with the linewidths of the acoustic phonons increasing substantially at long wavelengths, but only for those along the [001] direction. This observation indicates a large and singular electron-phonon coupling at small momenta, which we propose to give rise to the exotic p-wave nematic superconducting pairing in the MxBi2Se3 (M = Cu, Sr, Nb) superconductor family. Therefore, we show these superconductors to be example systems where electron-phonon interaction can induce more exotic superconducting pairing than the s-wave, consistent with the topological superconductivity.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10942-2

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