Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2108.10063

Z$_2$ nontrivial topology of rare-earth binary oxide superconductor

Jiahui Qian·Zongqi Shen·Xinyuan Wei·Wei Li
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Recently, superconductivity has been discovered in rock-salt structured binary lanthanum monoxide LaO through state-of-the-art oxide thin-film epitaxy. In this work, we reveal that the normal state of superconducting LaO is a $Z_2$ nontrivial topological metal, where the Dirac point protected by the crystal symmetry is located around the Fermi energy. By analysing the orbital characteristics, we show that the nature of the topological band structure of LaO originates from the intra-atomic transition from the outer shell La 5$d$ to the inner shell 4$f$ orbitals driven by the strong octahedral crystal-field. Furthermore, the appearance of novel surface states unambiguously demonstrates the topological signature of LaO superconductor. Our theoretical findings not only shed new light into the understanding of the exotic quantum behaviors in LaO superconductor with intimate correlation between 4$f$ and 5$d$ orbitals in La, but also provide an exciting platform to explore the interplay between nontrivial topology and superconductivity.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.supr-concond-mat.str-el

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Jiahui Qian, Zongqi Shen, Xinyuan Wei, Wei Li. 2022-01-20. Z$_2$ nontrivial topology of rare-earth binary oxide superconductor. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.l020508

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Superconductivity in MgHCu3 perovskite revisited

We reexamine the crystal structure, electronic structure, lattice dynamics, phonon dispersion, electron-phonon coupling, and superconducting properties of MgHCu3 perovskite using the PBEsol and PBE functionals. This perovskite phase was recently proposed to exhibit superconductivity with the critical superconducting temperature, TC, of 42 K, which falls slightly over the classical 40 K limit for the phonon driven superconductivity. We show that although the crystal and electronic structure of this hypothetical compound are quite robust with respect to the k point mesh and functional used, yet the phonons and phonon related properties are extremely sensitive to the density of the grid chosen as well as functional used for calculations. Correspondingly, the values of the critical superconducting temperature calculated here for different Gaussian broadenings vary in a broad range of ca. 10 to 31 K and they do not exceed the classical limit. We suggest that the properties of this and many other high TC hydrides claimed should be thoroughly scrutinized using a variety of functionals, and benchmarked with experiment, to provide more reliable values of TC.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2026

Different reconstruction pathways toward superconductivity in TaRhTe4 and TaIrTe4 Weyl semimetals

Pressure can drive Weyl semimetals toward superconductivity through qualitatively distinct reconstructions of their lattices and normal-state electronic structures. Here, we report the first observation of superconductivity in compressed TaRhTe4. This finding enables a direct comparison of the distinct reconstruction pathways leading to superconductivity in TaRhTe4 and the previously studied TaIrTe4, both of which belong to the TaXTe4 (X = Rh, Ir) family of type-II Weyl semimetals. For TaRhTe4, high-pressure electrical-resistance, Hall effect, and magnetoresistance measurements, together with synchrotron X-ray diffraction and first-principles calculations, reveal a superconducting transition that emerges near 20 GPa, with onset Tc increasing to approximately 2.6 K at 65.2 GPa and zero resistance achieved above 63 GPa. The onset of superconductivity coincides with a progressive lattice distortion, a strong suppression of the positive magnetoresistance, and a continuous decrease of the Hall coefficient toward zero. Calculations further show that additional electron-like bands cross the Fermi level (EF) and that N(EF) increases upon compression. This evolution contrasts with TaIrTe4, where the Hall coefficient initially increases before reversing its pressure dependence near the superconducting threshold, while the structural anomaly is confined to a narrower pressure interval. This comparison indicates that superconductivity in the TaXTe4 family is not tied to a unique critical pressure or a single Fermi-surface reconstruction, but can emerge through distinct material-specific pathways once pressure sufficiently reconstructs the low-carrier Weyl-semimetal-derived state into a multiband metallic regime.

cond-mat.supr-con↗
arXiv2026

Electromagnetic Proximity Effects and Spontaneous Currents in Clean Superconducting Heterostructures

When ferromagnets are brought into contact with a superconductor, superconducting proximity effects give rise to a variety of interesting phenomena, including oscillatory singlet Cooper-pair amplitudes and long-ranged odd-frequency triplet correlations induced by the exchange interactions in the ferromagnets. From an electrodynamic perspective, however, it is equally important to understand when and how spontaneous currents can emerge. To investigate the interplay between electromagnetic and conventional superconducting proximity effects, we study clean ferromagnet/ferromagnet/superconductor spin-valve heterostructures in which the relative angle between the two ferromagnetic layers can be tuned. Our approach is based on a self-consistent numerical solution of the coupled Bogoliubov-de Gennes and Maxwell equations, providing a microscopic description capable of resolving physics on atomic length scales. Several notable features emerge. In both the weak- and strong-exchange-field regimes, the central ferromagnetic layer plays a dominant role in generating sizable spontaneous currents when its exchange-field strength is varied. We further find that the resulting electromagnetic response extends across the entire superconducting layer, in sharp contrast to the short-ranged inverse proximity effect. In noncollinear configurations, the electromagnetic proximity effect also reconfigures the local magnetic-field orientation and reduces the angular mismatch between the fields in the two ferromagnetic layers. The long-ranged odd-frequency triplet amplitudes are consequently modified by the orbital response, which alters the underlying quasiparticle states by changing their momentum-space structure. Finally, our framework can be naturally generalized to other superconducting spintronic systems, possibly including Josephson junctions and altermagnet/superconductor heterostructures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗