Experimental evidence for bulk superconductivity in pure Bismuth single crystal at ambient pressure

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of bulk superconductivity in pure Bismuth single crystals at ambient pressure, challenging existing theories and suggesting new mechanisms involving inter-valley electron-phonon coupling in low carrier density systems.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of bulk superconductivity in pure Bi at ultra-low temperatures, highlighting the need for new theoretical models beyond conventional BCS theory.

Findings

Superconductivity observed below 0.53 mK in pure Bi

Critical magnetic field estimated at 5.2 μT at 0 K

Bi is the lowest carrier density superconductor recorded

Abstract

Bulk rhombohedral Bismuth (Bi) at ambient pressure is a semimetal and it remains in the normal state down to 10~mK. The superconductivity (SC) in bulk Bi is thought to be very unlikely due to extremely low carrier density. The question of SC in Bi has remained unsolved both theoretically and experimentally. Here, we report first ever observation of bulk SC in highly pure Bi single crystals (99.9999\%) below 0.53~mK under ambient pressure with an estimated critical magnetic field of 5.2~$\mu$T at 0~K. The conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory cannot explain the observed SC in Bi, since the adiabatic approximation of the BCS theory, $\omega_D/E_F<< 1$, does not hold true for Bi. Bi has a multi-valley type electronic band structure and SC in Bi could be brought about by the inter-valley electron-phonon coupling. Such a scenario calls for new theoretical ideas to understand SC in such low carrier systems with unusual band structure in the non-adiabatic limit, $\omega_D/E_F \gtrsim 1$. The observation of SC in Bi makes it the lowest carrier density superconductor surpassing the record held by doped SrTiO$_3$ for nearly 50 years.