Tunable unconventional kagome superconductivity in charge ordered RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5

Z. Guguchia, C. Mielke, D. Das, R. Gupta, J. X. Yin, H. Liu, Q. Yin, M. H. Christensen, Z. Tu, C. Gong, N. Shumiya, Md Shafayat Hossain, Ts Gamsakhurdashvili, M. Elender, Pengcheng Dai, A. Amato, Y. Shi, H. C. Lei, R. M. Fernandes, M. Z. HasanH. Luetkens, R. Khasanov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Scopus citations

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors often feature competing orders, small superfluid density, and nodal electronic pairing. While unusual superconductivity has been proposed in the kagome metals AV3Sb5, key spectroscopic evidence has remained elusive. Here we utilize pressure-tuned and ultra-low temperature muon spin spectroscopy to uncover the unconventional nature of superconductivity in RbV3Sb5 and KV3Sb5. At ambient pressure, we observed time-reversal symmetry breaking charge order below T1*≃ 110 K in RbV3Sb5 with an additional transition at T2*≃ 50 K. Remarkably, the superconducting state displays a nodal energy gap and a reduced superfluid density, which can be attributed to the competition with the charge order. Upon applying pressure, the charge-order transitions are suppressed, the superfluid density increases, and the superconducting state progressively evolves from nodal to nodeless. Once optimal superconductivity is achieved, we find a superconducting pairing state that is not only fully gapped, but also spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry. Our results point to unprecedented tunable nodal kagome superconductivity competing with time-reversal symmetry-breaking charge order and offer unique insights into the nature of the pairing state.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number153
JournalNature communications
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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

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