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arXiv · 2108.09308

Strongly correlated ladders in K-doped $p$-terphenyl crystals

John Sous·Natalia A. Gadjieva·Colin Nuckolls·David R. Reichman·Andrew J. Millis
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Abstract

Potassium-doped terphenyl has recently attracted attention as a potential host for high-transition-temperature superconductivity. Here, we elucidate the many-body electronic structure of recently synthesized potassium-doped terphenyl crystals. We show that this system may be understood as a set of weakly coupled one-dimensional ladders. Depending on the strength of the inter-ladder coupling the system may exhibit spin-gapped valence-bond solid or antiferromagnetic phases, both of which upon hole doping may give rise to superconductivity. This terphenyl-based ladder material serves as a new platform for investigating the fate of ladder phases in presence of three-dimensional coupling as well as for novel superconductivity.

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John Sous, Natalia A. Gadjieva, Colin Nuckolls, David R. Reichman, Andrew J. Millis. 2021-08-20. Strongly correlated ladders in K-doped $p$-terphenyl crystals. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c03236

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