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Time-reversal symmetry breaking in the noncentrosymmetric Zr3Ir superconductor

Shang, T., Ghosh, S.K., Zhao, J.Z., Chang, L.J., Baines, C., Lee, M.K., Gawryluk, D.J., Shi, M., Medarde, M., Quintanilla, Jorge, and others. (2020) Time-reversal symmetry breaking in the noncentrosymmetric Zr3Ir superconductor. Physical Review B, 102 . Article Number 020503. ISSN 2469-9950. E-ISSN 2469-9969. (doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.102.020503) (KAR id:82161)

Abstract

We report the discovery of Zr3Ir as a structurally different type of unconventional noncentrosymmetric superconductor (with Tc=2.3 K), here investigated mostly via muon-spin rotation/relaxation (μSR) techniques. Its superconductivity was characterized using magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and heat capacity measurements. The low-temperature superfluid density, determined via transverse-field μSR and electronic specific heat, suggests a fully gapped superconducting state. The spontaneous magnetic fields, revealed by zero-field μSR below Tc, indicate the breaking of time-reversal symmetry in Zr3Ir and hence the unconventional nature of its superconductivity. By using symmetry arguments and electronic-structure calculations we obtain a superconducting order parameter that is fully compatible with the experimental observations. Hence, our results clearly suggest that Zr3Ir represents a structurally different member of noncentrosymmetric superconductors with broken time-reversal symmetry.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.020503
Uncontrolled keywords: Physics of Quantum Materials, superconductivity, noncentrosymmetric materials, unconventional superconductors, muon spin relaxation & rotation, symmetry in physics
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics > QC173.45 Condensed Matter
Q Science
Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Funders: [37325] UNSPECIFIED
[37325] UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User: Jorge Quintanilla Tizon
Date Deposited: 20 Jul 2020 11:34 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 15:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/82161 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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