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Superconducting order parameter of the nodal-line semimetal NaAlSi

Published inAPL materials, vol. 7, no. 12, 121103
Publication date2019-12-01
Abstract

Nodal-line semimetals are topologically nontrivial states of matter featuring band crossings along a closed curve, i.e., nodal-line, in momentum space. Through a detailed analysis of the electronic structure, we show, for the first time, that the normal state of the superconductor NaAlSi, with a critical temperature of Tc ≈ 7 K, is a nodal-line semimetal, where the complex nodal-line structure is protected by nonsymmorphic mirror crystal symmetries. We further report on muon spin rotation experiments revealing that the superconductivity in NaAlSi is truly of bulk nature, featuring a fully gapped Fermi-surface. The temperature-dependent magnetic penetration depth can be well described by a two-gap model consisting of two s-wave symmetric gaps with Δ1 = 0.6(2) meV and Δ2 = 1.39(1) meV. The zero-field muon experiment indicates that time-reversal symmetry is preserved in the superconducting state. Our observations suggest that, notwithstanding its topologically nontrivial band structure, NaAlSi may be suitably interpreted as a conventional London superconductor, while more exotic superconducting gap symmetries cannot be excluded. The intertwining of topological electronic states and superconductivity renders NaAlSi a prototypical platform to search for unprecedented topological quantum phases.

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MUECHLER, Lukas et al. Superconducting order parameter of the nodal-line semimetal NaAlSi. In: APL materials, 2019, vol. 7, n° 12, p. 121103. doi: 10.1063/1.5124242
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Additional URL for this publicationhttp://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5124242
Journal ISSN2166-532X
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