Nematic and chiral superconductivity emerging within the loop-current phase in kagome metals

Abstract

The kagome metals $A$V$_3$Sb$_5$ ($A =$ Cs, Rb, K) host multiple symmetry-breaking phases, including charge-density-wave and loop-current orders, and exhibit highly exotic superconductivity with pronounced nematicity and chirality. Remarkably, even dilute impurities transform this exotic superconducting state into an isotropic $s$-wave state. These observations pose a challenge to existing theoretical scenarios. We show that loop-current order induces nematic chiral $d$-wave superconductivity in kagome metals. The loop-current-induced orbital magnetization (OM) stabilizes one chiral superconducting channels. This OM-chirality coupling mechanism is generic and applies to pairing driven by either attractive or repulsive interactions. Furthermore, coexisting loop-current and bond orders give rise to pronounced nematic chiral superconductivity even for an almost $C_6$-symmetric Fermi surface. For attractive pairing, dilute impurities suppress the chiral state and restore a conventional $s$-wave phase, as observed experimentally. The theory further predicts a robust $2\times2$ pair-density modulation. This study provides key insights into time-reversal-symmetry-breaking exotic superconductivity in kagome metals.