Superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates the nature of superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals, revealing unique gap structures, phase diagrams, and experimental signatures of unconventional superconducting states influenced by spin-orbit coupling and electron interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals, highlighting the role of spin-orbit coupling and inter-orbital interactions in forming novel phases.

Findings

Unconventional superconducting state with point nodes emerges when inter-orbital attraction dominates.

Distinct surface states, including dispersive or flat Andreev bound states, are predicted.

Bulk properties like specific heat and spin susceptibility show characteristic temperature dependencies.

Abstract

We theoretically study intrinsic superconductivity in doped Dirac semimetals. Dirac semimetals host bulk Dirac points, which are formed by doubly degenerate bands, so the Hamiltonian is described by a $4 \times 4$ matrix and six types of $k$-independent pair potentials are allowed by the Fermi-Dirac statistics. We show that the unique spin-orbit coupling leads to characteristic superconducting gap structures and $d$ vectors on the Fermi surface and the electron-electron interaction between intra and interorbitals gives a novel phase diagram of superconductivity. It is found that when the inter-orbital attraction is dominant, an unconventional superconducting state with point nodes appears. To verify the experimental signature of possible superconducting states, we calculate the temperature dependence of bulk physical properties such as electronic specific heat and spin susceptibility and surface state. In the unconventional superconducting phase, either dispersive or flat Andreev bound states appear between point nodes, which leads to double peaks or single peak in the surface density of states, respectively. As a result, possible superconducting states can be distinguished by combining bulk and surface measurements.