Nematic Superconductivity in Doped Bi₂Se₃ Topological Superconductors

Abstract

Nematic superconductivity is a novel class of superconductivity characterized by spontaneous rotational-symmetry breaking in the superconducting gap amplitude and/or Cooper-pair spins with respect to the underlying lattice symmetry. Doped Bi 2 Se 3 superconductors, such as Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 , Sr x Bi 2 Se 3 , and Nb x Bi 2 Se 3 , are considered as candidates for nematic superconductors, in addition to the anticipated topological superconductivity. Recently, various bulk probes, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, specific heat, magnetotransport, magnetic torque, and magnetization, have consistently revealed two-fold symmetric behavior in their in-plane magnetic-field-direction dependence, although the underlying crystal lattice possesses three-fold rotational symmetry. More recently, nematic superconductivity was directly visualized using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. In this short review, we summarize the current research on the nematic behavior in superconducting doped Bi 2 Se 3 systems and discuss issues and perspectives.

Keywords

• nematic superconductivity
• doped Bi₂Se₃
• topological superconductivity