Physical Review Research (Oct 2021)
Competition between charge-density-wave and superconductivity in the kagome metal RbV_{3}Sb_{5}
Abstract
The interplay between charge-density-wave (CDW) order and superconductivity (SC) in the kagome metal RbV_{3}Sb_{5} is studied by tracking the evolutions of their transition temperatures T^{*} and T_{c} as a function of pressure (P) via measurements of resistivity and magnetic susceptibility under various hydrostatic pressures up to ∼5 GPa. It is found that the CDW order at T^{*} experiences a subtle modification at P_{c1}≈1.5GPa before it is completely suppressed around P_{c2}≈2.4GPa. Accordingly, the superconducting transition T_{c}(P) exhibits a shallow M-shaped double superconducting dome with two extrema of T_{c}^{onset}≈4.4 and 3.9 K around P_{c1} and P_{c2}, respectively, leading to a fourfold enhancement of T_{c} with respect to that at ambient pressure. The constructed T-P phase diagram of RbV_{3}Sb_{5} resembles that of CsV_{3}Sb_{5} and shares similar features to many other unconventional superconducting systems with intertwined competing electronic orders. The strong competition between CDW and SC is also evidenced by the broad superconducting transition width in the coexistent region. Our results shed more light on the intriguing physics involving intertwined electronic orders in this topological kagome metal family.