Two-component nematic superconductivity in 4Hb-TaS₂.

ABSTRACT: Most superconductors have an isotropic, single component order parameter and are well described by the standard (BCS) theory for superconductivity. Unconventional, multiple-component superconductors are exceptionally rare and are much less understood. Here, we combine scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved macroscopic transport for studying the candidate chiral superconductor, 4Hb-TaS₂. We reveal quasi-periodic one-dimensional modulations in the tunneling conductance accompanied by two-fold symmetric superconducting critical field. The strong modulation of the in-plane critical field, H_c2, points to a nematic, unconventional order parameter. However, the imaged vortex core is isotropic at low temperatures. We suggest a model that reconciles this apparent dis

SUBMITTER: Silber I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10821864 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature