arXiv subjects

Ping Ai

Publications and source records attributed to Ping Ai.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

ARPES Detection of Superconducting Gap Sign in Unconventional Superconductors

Superconductivity is realized by opening a gap in the superconducting state. The gap symmetry is crucial in understanding the underlying superconductivity mechanism. The magnitude and the phase are essential in fully characterizing the superconducting gap. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has played a key role in determining the gap symmetry in unconventional superconductors. However, it has been considered so far that ARPES can only measure the magnitude of the superconducting gap but not its phase; the phase has to be detected by other phase-sensitive techniques. Here we propose a new method to directly detect the superconducting gap sign by using ARPES. This method is successfully validated in a cuprate superconductor with a well-known $d$-wave gap symmetry. When two bands are nearby in momentum space and have a strong interband interaction, the resulted electronic structures in the superconducting state are sensitive to the relative gap sign between the two bands which can be captured by ARPES measurements. Our present work provides a new way to detect the gap sign and can be applied to various superconductors, particularly those with multiple orbitals like the iron-based superconductors. It also makes ARPES more powerful to determine both the gap magnitude and the phase that are significant in understanding the superconductivity mechanism of unconventional superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Linearly dispersive bands at the onset of correlations in K$_x$C$_{60}$ films

Molecular crystals are a flexible platform to induce novel electronic phases. Due to the weak forces between molecules, intermolecular distances can be varied over relatively larger ranges than interatomic distances in atomic crystals. On the other hand, the hopping terms are generally small, which results in narrow bands, strong correlations and heavy electrons. Here, by growing K$_x$C$_{60}$ fullerides on hexagonal layered Bi$_2$Se$_3$, we show that upon doping the series undergoes a Mott transition from a molecular insulator to a correlated metal, and an in-gap state evolves into highly dispersive Dirac-like fermions at half filling, where superconductivity occurs. This picture challenges the commonly accepted description of the low energy quasiparticles as appearing from a gradual electron doping of the conduction states, and suggests an intriguing parallel with the more famous family of the cuprate superconductors. More in general, it indicates that molecular crystals offer a viable route to engineer electron-electron interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Nodal s$_\pm$ Pairing Symmetry in an Iron-Based Superconductor with only Hole Pockets

The origin of the high temperature superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors remains elusive after being extensively studied for more than a decade. Determination of the pairing symmetry is essential in understanding the superconductivity mechanism. In the iron-based superconductors that have hole pockets around the Brillouin zone center and electron pockets around the zone corners, the pairing symmetry is generally considered to be s$_\pm$, endowing a sign change in the superconducting gap between the hole and electron pockets. For the iron-based superconductors with only hole pockets, however, a couple of pairing scenarios have been proposed but the exact symmetry is still highly controversial. Here we report our determination of the pairing symmetry in KFe$_2$As$_2$ which is a prototypical iron-based superconductor with hole pockets both around the zone center and around the zone corners. By taking laser-based angle resolved photoemission measurements with super-high resolution and at ultra-low temperature, we have precisely determined the superconducting gap distribution and identified the locations of the gap nodes on all the Fermi surface around the zone center and the zone corners. The complete superconducting gap structure, in combination with the observation of the spin resonance in neutron scattering, provides strong evidence on the s$_\pm$ pairing symmetry in KFe$_2$As$_2$ with a gap sign reversal between the hole pockets around the zone center and the hole pockets around the zone corners. These results unify the pairing symmetry in the hole-doped iron-based superconductors and point to the spin fluctuation as the pairing glue in generating superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Polarization dependent photoemission as a probe of the magnetic ground state in the layered ferromagnet VI3

Layered ferromagnets are thrilling materials from both a fundamental and technological point of view. VI3 is an interesting example, with a complex magnetism that differentiates it from the first reported Cr based layered ferromagnets. Here, we show in an indirect way through Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, the importance of spin-orbit coupling setting the electronic properties of this material. Our light polarized photoemission measurements point to a ground state with a half-filled e'_+- doublet, where a gap opening is triggered by spin-orbit coupling enhanced by electronic correlations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Electronic Evolution from the Parent Mott Insulator to a Superconductor in Lightly Hole-Doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

High temperature superconductivity in cuprates is realized by doping the Mott insulator with charge carriers. A central issue is how such an insulating state can evolve into a conducting or superconducting state when charge carriers are introduced. Here, by in situ vacuum annealing and Rb deposition on the Bi2Sr2Ca0.6Dy0.4Cu2O8+delta (Bi2212) sample surface to push its doping level continuously from deeply underdoped (Tc=25 K, doping level p-0.066) to the near zero doping parent Mott insulator, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements are carried out to observe the detailed electronic structure evolution in lightly hole-doped region for the first time. Our results indicate that the chemical potential lies at about 1 eV above the charge transfer band for the parent state at zero doping which is quite close to the upper Hubbard band. With increasing hole doping, the chemical potential moves continuously towards the charge transfer band and the band structure evolution exhibits a rigid band shift-like behavior. When the chemical potential approaches the charge transfer band at a doping level of -0.05, the nodal spectral weight near the Fermi level increases, followed by the emergence of the coherent quasiparticle peak and the insulator-superconductor transition. Our observations provide key insights in understanding the insulator-superconductor transition in doping the parent cuprate compound and for establishing related theories.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Evidence for an Additional Symmetry Breaking from Direct Observation of Band Splitting in the Nematic State of FeSe Superconductor

The iron-based superconductor FeSe has attracted much recent attention because of its simple crystal structure, distinct electronic structure and rich physics exhibited by itself and its derivatives. Determination of its intrinsic electronic structure is crucial to understand its physical properties and superconductivity mechanism. Both theoretical and experimental studies so far have provided a picture that FeSe consists of one hole-like Fermi surface around the Brillouin zone center in its nematic state. Here we report direct observation of two hole-like Fermi surface sheets around the Brillouin zone center, and the splitting of the associated bands, in the nematic state of FeSe by taking high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements. These results indicate that, in addition to nematic order and spin-orbit coupling, there is an additional order in FeSe that breaks either inversion or time reversal symmetries. The new Fermi surface topology asks for reexamination of the existing theoretical and experimental understanding of FeSe and stimulates further efforts to identify the origin of the hidden order in its nematic state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Selective Hybridization between Main Band and Superstructure Band in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ Superconductor

High-resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been carried out on Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi2212) and Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ (Bi2201) superconductors. Unexpected hybridization between the main band and the superstructure band in Bi2212 is clearly revealed. In the momentum space where one main Fermi surface intersects with one superstructure Fermi surface, four bands are observed instead of two. The hybridization exists in both superconducting state and normal state, and in Bi2212 samples with different doping levels. Such a hybridization is not observed in Bi2201. This phenomenon can be understood by considering the bilayer splitting in Bi2212, the selective hybridization of two bands with peculiar combinations, and the altered matrix element effects of the hybridized bands. These observations provide strong evidence on the origin of the superstructure band which is intrinsic to the CuO$_2$ planes. Therefore, understanding physical properties and superconductivity mechanism in Bi2212 should consider the complete Fermi surface topology which involves the main bands, the superstructure bands and their interactions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Evolution of Incommensurate Superstructure and Electronic Structure with Pb Substitution in (Bi$_{2-x}$Pb$_{x}$)Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ Superconductors

High-quality Bi$_{2-x}$Pb$_{x}$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi2212) single crystals have been successfully grown by the traveling solvent floating zone technique with a wide range of Pb substitution ($x=0-0.8$). The samples are characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and measured by high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) with different photon energies. A systematic evolution of the electronic structure and superstructure with Pb substitution has been revealed for the first time. The superstructure shows a significant change with Pb substitution and the incommensurate modulation vector ($\textbf{Q}$) decreases with increasing Pb substitution. In the meantime, the superstructure intensity from ARPES measurements also decreases dramatically with increasing Pb concentration. The superstructure in Bi2212 can be effectively suppressed by Pb substitution and it nearly disappears with a Pb substitution of $x=0.8$. We also find that the superstructure bands in ARPES measurements depend sensitively on the photon energy of lasers used; they can become even stronger than the main band when using a laser photon energy of 10.897 eV. These results provide important information on the origin of the incommensurate superstructure and its control and suppression in bismuth-based high temperature superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Distinct Superconducting Gap on Two Bilayer-Split Fermi Surface Sheets in $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}$ Superconductor

High resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements were carried out on an overdoped $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}$ superconductor with a Tc of 75 K. Two Fermi surface sheets caused by bilayer splitting are clearly identified with rather different doping levels: the bonding sheet corresponds to a doping level of 0.14 which is slightly underdoped while the antibonding sheet has a doping of 0.27 that is heavily overdoped, giving an overall doping level of 0.20 for the sample. Different superconducting gap sizes on the two Fermi surface sheets are revealed for the first time. The superconducting gap on the antibonding Fermi surface sheet follows a standard d-wave form while it deviates from the standard d-wave form for the bonding Fermi surface sheet. The maximum gap difference between the two Fermi surface sheets near the antinodal region is $\sim$2 meV. These observations provide important information for studying the relationship between the Fermi surface topology and superconductivity, and the layer-dependent superconductivity in high temperature cuprate superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Orbital Origin of Extremely Anisotropic Superconducting Gap in Nematic Phase of FeSe Superconductor

The iron-based superconductors are characterized by multiple-orbital physics where all the five Fe 3$d$ orbitals get involved. The multiple-orbital nature gives rise to various novel phenomena like orbital-selective Mott transition, nematicity and orbital fluctuation that provide a new route for realizing superconductivity. The complexity of multiple-orbital also asks to disentangle the relationship between orbital, spin and nematicity, and to identify dominant orbital ingredients that dictate superconductivity. The bulk FeSe superconductor provides an ideal platform to address these issues because of its simple crystal structure and unique coexistence of superconductivity and nematicity. However, the orbital nature of the low energy electronic excitations and its relation to the superconducting gap remain controversial. Here we report direct observation of highly anisotropic Fermi surface and extremely anisotropic superconducting gap in the nematic state of FeSe superconductor by high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements. We find that the low energy excitations of the entire hole pocket at the Brillouin zone center are dominated by the single $d_{xz}$ orbital. The superconducting gap exhibits an anti-correlation relation with the $d_{xz}$ spectral weight near the Fermi level, i.e., the gap size minimum (maximum) corresponds to the maximum (minimum) of the $d_{xz}$ spectral weight along the Fermi surface. These observations provide new insights in understanding the orbital origin of the extremely anisotropic superconducting gap in FeSe superconductor and the relation between nematicity and superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Electronic Evidence for Type II Weyl Semimetal State in MoTe2

Topological quantum materials, including topological insulators and superconductors, Dirac semimetals and Weyl semimetals, have attracted much attention recently for their unique electronic structure, spin texture and physical properties. Very lately, a new type of Weyl semimetals has been proposed where the Weyl Fermions emerge at the boundary between electron and hole pockets in a new phase of matter, which is distinct from the standard type I Weyl semimetals with a point-like Fermi surface. The Weyl cone in this type II semimetals is strongly tilted and the related Fermi surface undergos a Lifshitz transition, giving rise to a new kind of chiral anomaly and other new physics. MoTe2 is proposed to be a candidate of a type II Weyl semimetal; the sensitivity of its topological state to lattice constants and correlation also makes it an ideal platform to explore possible topological phase transitions. By performing laser-based angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements with unprecedentedly high resolution, we have uncovered electronic evidence of type II semimetal state in MoTe2. We have established a full picture of the bulk electronic states and surface state for MoTe2 that are consistent with the band structure calculations. A single branch of surface state is identified that connects bulk hole pockets and bulk electron pockets. Detailed temperature-dependent ARPES measurements show high intensity spot-like features that is ~40 meV above the Fermi level and is close to the momentum space consistent with the theoretical expectation of the type II Weyl points. Our results constitute electronic evidence on the nature of the Weyl semimetal state that favors the presence of two sets of type II Weyl points in MoTe2.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗