Two-fold symmetric superconductivity in the Kagome superconductor RbV₃Sb₅.

Wang, Shuo; Fang, Jing-Zhi; Wu, Ze-Nan; Lu, Sirong; Wei, Zhongming; Wang, Zhiwei; Huang, Wen; Yao, Yugui; Yang, Jia-Jie; Chen, Tingyong; Lin, Ben-Chuan; Yu, Dapeng

The recently discovered kagome superconductors offer a promising platform for investigating intertwined orders and novel states, including topology, superconductivity, charge density waves, and more. The interplay among these orders can spontaneously break rotational symmetry, giving rise to exotic phenomena such as nematicity or even nematic superconductivity. Here we present our findings on the two-fold symmetric superconductivity in thin-flake RbV3Sb5 in response to direction-dependent in-plane magnetic fields, in contrast to the inherent six-fold structural symmetry of the crystal lattice. The two-fold symmetry was evidenced through a combination of magnetoresistance transport experiments, critical magnetic field measurements, and observations of anisotropic superconducting gaps. Additionally, by altering the experimental configuration, we also detected the presence of six-fold symmetric components superimposed on the two-fold symmetry at the boundary between normal and superconducting states. Our results underscore the correlation-driven symmetry-breaking phenomena and emphasize the potential of this correlated kagome family as a promising platform for investigating intertwined orders, including unconventional superconductivity. Kagome materials provide a platform to investigate the interplay between a range of ordered phases such as charge density waves, superconductivity, as well as non-trivial topological properties. Here, the authors observed the two-fold symmetric superconductivity in RbV3Sb5, which suggests the presence of unconventional superconductivity involved with nematic states and spin-orbit-parity coupled superconductivity.

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY; SUPERCONDUCTORS; CHARGE density waves; SUPERCONDUCTING composites; MAGNETIC field measurements; IRON-based superconductors; MAGNETORESISTANCE; CRYSTAL symmetry

Communications Physics, 2024, Vol 7, Issue 1, p1

2399-3650

Academic Journal

10.1038/s42005-023-01496-3