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DOE OSTI · 2546966

Pair-breaking scattering interference as a mechanism for superconducting gap modulation

Gao, Zhi-Qiang [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)]·Lin, Yu-Ping [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)]·Lee, Dung-Hai [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000247935829)
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Abstract

Here we propose the pair-breaking scattering interference as a general source of coherence peak modulations in superconductors. Assuming this mechanism, we present a simple physical picture for the coherence peak modulations in overdoped cuprate Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 10+δ (Bi-2223), ferromagnetic iron pnictide EuRbFe 4 As 4 (Eu-1144), and kagome metals AV 3 Sb 5 (A = K, Rb, and Cs). Specifically, we explain the wave vectors, the particle-hole symmetry, and the dependence on the internal or external Zeeman-field of the coherence peak modulations. This paper is intended as a cautious reminder to the scientific community when asserting the existence of a pair density wave phenomenon in the absence of tunneling conductance modulations in the normal state.

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75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITYImpurities in superconductorsScanning tunneling microscopySuperconductivitySuperconductors

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Gao, Zhi-Qiang [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Lin, Yu-Ping [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)], Lee, Dung-Hai [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000247935829). 2024-12-12. Pair-breaking scattering interference as a mechanism for superconducting gap modulation. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.110.224509

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