2016/03/31 by P. M. R. Brydon, Limin Wang, M. Weinert +1 · 4 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #2D Materials and Applications #Angular momentum #Condensed matter physics #Cooper pair #Fermion #Heusler alloys: electronic and magnetic properties #Pairing #Physics #Point reflection #Quantum mechanics #Singlet state #Superconductivity #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.116.177001
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 177001 (2016) · 9 pages, 6 figures (including supplemental materials). References updated, including companion paper arXiv:1603.03375 . To appear in Physical Review Letters
arxiv created 2016/04/07 · openalex publication_date 2016/04/27 · arxiv updated 2016/05/04 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We theoretically consider the superconductivity of the topological half-Heusler semimetals YPtBi and LuPtBi. We show that pairing occurs between j=3/2 fermion states, which leads to qualitative differences from the conventional theory of pairing between j=1/2 states. In particular, this permits Cooper pairs with quintet or septet total angular momentum, in addition to the usual singlet and triplet states. Purely on-site interactions can generate s-wave quintet time-reversal symmetry-breaking states with topologically nontrivial point or line nodes. These local s-wave quintet pairs reveal themselves as d-wave states in momentum space. Furthermore, due to the broken inversion symmetry in these materials, the s-wave singlet state can mix with a p-wave septet state, again with topologically stable line nodes. Our analysis lays the foundation for understanding the unconventional superconductivity of the half-Heuslers.