Signatures of the topological s +- superconducting order parameter in the type-II Weyl semimetal T d-MoTe2

  • Z. Guguchia
  • , F. Von Rohr
  • , Z. Shermadini
  • , A. T. Lee
  • , S. Banerjee
  • , A. R. Wieteska
  • , C. A. Marianetti
  • , B. A. Frandsen
  • , H. Luetkens
  • , Z. Gong
  • , S. C. Cheung
  • , C. Baines
  • , A. Shengelaya
  • , G. Taniashvili
  • , A. N. Pasupathy
  • , E. Morenzoni
  • , S. J.L. Billinge
  • , A. Amato
  • , R. J. Cava
  • , R. Khasanov
  • Y. J. Uemura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

123 Scopus citations

Abstract

In its orthorhombic T d polymorph, MoTe2 is a type-II Weyl semimetal, where the Weyl fermions emerge at the boundary between electron and hole pockets. Non-saturating magnetoresistance and superconductivity were also observed in T d-MoTe2. Understanding the superconductivity in T d-MoTe2, which was proposed to be topologically non-trivial, is of eminent interest. Here, we report high-pressure muon-spin rotation experiments probing the temperature-dependent magnetic penetration depth in T d-MoTe2. A substantial increase of the superfluid density and a linear scaling with the superconducting critical temperature T c is observed under pressure. Moreover, the superconducting order parameter in T d-MoTe2 is determined to have 2-gap s-wave symmetry. We also exclude time-reversal symmetry breaking in the superconducting state with zero-field μSR experiments. Considering the strong suppression of T c in MoTe2 by disorder, we suggest that topologically non-trivial s +- state is more likely to be realized in MoTe2 than the topologically trivial s ++ state.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1082
JournalNature communications
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2017

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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