2026/08/04 by Yu Miao, Zhiwei Wang, Hongxu Sun +9
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.supr-con #cond-mat.str-el
16 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2026/08/04 · arxiv updated 2026/08/05
Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelates provide an uncharted territory to explore high-transition-temperature (high-TC) superconductivity and superconducting mechanism. Here, we investigate the electronic structure of a new type of high-TC superconducting RP nickelate heterostructure La2PrNi2O7/NdAlO3 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. A superconducting state is observed without a pseudogap state, enabling a direct measurement of the superconducting order parameter and a microscopic extraction of the electronic specific heat. The observed superconducting gap opens at TC with prominent coherence peaks, illustrating the emergence of nonzero order parameter upon entering the superconducting state. An electronic specific heat jump appears at TC, further demonstrating a thermodynamic phase transition. The magnitude of the superconducting order parameter is quantified by the observed superconducting coherence peaks, and a nodeless behavior is unambiguously established in the absence of pseudogap. The underlying Fermi surface consists of α, β and γ pockets, exhibiting a multi-orbital nature. Strain dependent measurements further reveal the γ pocket in all superconducting and non-superconducting films with different epitaxial strain. Our results establish the missing thermodynamic evidence for superconducting phase transition in nickelates. They also provide direct evidence for the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter and illustrate the relationship between Fermi surface topology and the emergence of superconductivity in RP nickelate films.