Using controlled disorder to probe the interplay between charge order and superconductivity in NbSe2

Abstract

The interplay between superconductivity and charge density waves (CDW) in $H$-NbSe2 is not fully understood despite decades of study. Artificially introduced disorder can tip the delicate balance between two competing forms of long-range order, and reveal the underlying interactions that give rise to them. Here we introduce disorders by electron irradiation and measure in-plane resistivity, Hall resistivity, X-ray scattering, and London penetration depth. With increasing disorder, $T_{\textrm{c}}$ varies nonmonotonically, whereas $T_{\textrm{CDW}}$ monotonically decreases and becomes unresolvable above a critical irradiation dose where $T_{\textrm{c}}$ drops sharply. Our results imply that CDW order initially competes with superconductivity, but eventually assists it. We argue that at the transition where the long-range CDW order disappears, the cooperation with superconductivity is dramatically suppressed. X-ray scattering and Hall resistivity measurements reveal that the short-range CDW survives above the transition. Superconductivity persists to much higher dose levels, consistent with fully gapped superconductivity and moderate interband pairing.