Complex spectral evolution in a BCS superconductor, ZrB12

We investigate the electronic structure of a complex conventional superconductor, ZrB12 employing high resolution photoemission spectroscopy and ab initio band structure calculations. The experimental valence band spectra could be described reasonably well within the local density approximation. Energy bands close to the Fermi level possess t2g symmetry and the Fermi level is found to be in the proximity of quantum fluctuation regime. The spectral lineshape in the high resolution spectra is complex exhibiting signature of a deviation from Fermi liquid behavior. A dip at the Fermi level emerges above the superconducting transition temperature that gradually grows with the decrease in temperature. The spectral simulation of the dip and spectral lineshape based on a phenomenological self energy suggests finite electron pair lifetime and a pseudogap above the superconducting transition temperature

Rayleigh Approximation to Ground State of the Bose and Coulomb Glasses

Glasses are rigid systems in which competing interactions prevent simultaneous minimization of local energies. This leads to frustration and highly degenerate ground states the nature and properties of which are still far from being thoroughly understood. We report an analytical approach based on the method of functional equations that allows us to construct the Rayleigh approximation to the ground state of a two-dimensional (2D) random Coulomb system with logarithmic interactions. We realize a model for 2D Coulomb glass as a cylindrical type II superconductor containing randomly located columnar defects (CD) which trap superconducting vortices induced by applied magnetic field. Our findings break ground for analytical studies of glassy systems, marking an important step towards understanding their properties

Possible Unconventional Superconductivity In Substituted Bafe 2 As 2 Revealed By Magnetic Pair-breaking Studies

The possible existence of a sign-changing gap symmetry in BaFe 2 As 2 -derived superconductors (SC) has been an exciting topic of research in the last few years. To further investigate this subject we combine Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and pressure-dependent transport measurements to investigate magnetic pair-breaking effects on BaFe 1.9 M 0.1 As 2 (M = Mn, Co, Cu, and Ni) single crystals. An ESR signal, indicative of the presence of localized magnetic moments, is observed only for M = Cu and Mn compounds, which display very low SC transition temperature (T c) and no SC, respectively. From the ESR analysis assuming the absence of bottleneck effects, the microscopic parameters are extracted to show that this reduction of T c cannot be accounted by the Abrikosov-Gorkov pair-breaking expression for a sign-preserving gap function. 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Light quantum control of persisting Higgs modes in iron-based superconductors

The Higgs mechanism, i.e., spontaneous symmetry breaking of the quantum vacuum, is a cross-disciplinary principle, universal for understanding dark energy, antimatter and quantum materials, from superconductivity to magnetism. Unlike one-band superconductors (SCs), a conceptually distinct Higgs amplitude mode can arise in multi-band, unconventional superconductors via strong interband Coulomb interaction, but is yet to be accessed. Here we discover such hybrid Higgs mode and demonstrate its quantum control by light in iron-based high-temperature SCs. Using terahertz (THz) two-pulse coherent spectroscopy, we observe a tunable amplitude mode coherent oscillation of the complex order parameter from coupled lower and upper bands. The nonlinear dependence of the hybrid Higgs mode on the THz driving fields is distinct from any known SC results: we observe a large reversible modulation of resonance strength, yet with a persisting mode frequency. Together with quantum kinetic modeling of a hybrid Higgs mechanism, distinct from charge-density fluctuations and without invoking phonons or disorder, our result provides compelling evidence for a light-controlled coupling between the electron and hole amplitude modes assisted by strong interband quantum entanglement. Such light-control of Higgs hybridization can be extended to probe many-body entanglement and hidden symmetries in other complex systems