Z$_2$ topology and superconductivity from symmetry lowering of a 3D Dirac Metal Au$_2$Pb

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Au$_2$Pb transitions from a Dirac semimetal to a topologically nontrivial superconductor upon cooling, providing a platform to study the interplay of Dirac electrons, topological states, and superconductivity.

Contribution

It experimentally verifies the structural transition-induced topological phase change and superconductivity in Au$_2$Pb, linking Dirac semimetals to topological superconductors.

Findings

Au$_2$Pb has a bulk Dirac cone above 100 K.

Structural transition gaps out the Dirac cone and induces a topological phase.

Au$_2$Pb becomes superconducting below 1.2 K with topological surface states.

Abstract

3D Dirac semi-metals (DSMs) are materials that have massless Dirac electrons and exhibit exotic physical properties It has been suggested that structurally distorting a DSM can create a Topological Insulator (TI), but this has not yet been experimentally verified. Furthermore, quasiparticle excitations known as Majorana Fermions have been theoretically proposed to exist in materials that exhibit superconductivity and topological surface states. Here we show that the cubic Laves phase Au$_2$Pb has a bulk Dirac cone above 100 K that gaps out upon cooling at a structural phase transition to create a topologically non trivial phase that superconducts below 1.2 K. The nontrivial Z$_2$ = -1 invariant in the low temperature phase indicates that Au$_2$Pb in its superconducting state must have topological surface states. These characteristics make Au$_2$Pb a unique platform for studying the transition between bulk Dirac electrons and topological surface states as well as studying the interaction of superconductivity with topological surface states.