Full superconducting gap in the doped topological crystalline insulator, Sn$_{0.6}$In$_{0.4}$Te

TL;DR

This study measures thermal conductivity in doped SnInTe, demonstrating it has a full superconducting gap, supporting its classification as an unconventional topological superconductor with potential surface states.

Contribution

The paper provides experimental evidence of a nodeless, full superconducting gap in doped SnInTe, supporting its status as an unconventional topological superconductor with odd-parity pairing.

Findings

Residual linear term $ _0/T$ is negligible, indicating a full gap.

Field dependence of $ _0/T$ suggests absence of point nodes.

Supports the odd-parity $A_{1u}$ pairing state with surface Andreev bound states.

Abstract

The thermal conductivity of the doped topological crystalline insulator, Sn$_{0.6}$In$_{0.4}$Te superconducting single crystal with $T_c =$ 4.1 K, was measured down to 50 mK. It is found that the residual linear term $\kappa_0/T$ is negligible in zero magnetic field. The $\kappa_0/T$ shows a slow field dependence at low magnetic field. These results suggest that the superconducting gap is nodeless, unless there exist point nodes with directions perpendicular to the heat current. Due to its high-symmetry fcc crystal structure of Sn$_{0.6}$In$_{0.4}$Te, however, such point nodes can be excluded. Therefore we demonstrate that this topological superconductor candidate has a full superconducting gap in the bulk. It is likely the unconventional odd-parity $A_{1u}$ state which supports a surface Andreev bound state.