Evidence of s-wave superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric La$_7$Ir$_3$

TL;DR

This study provides comprehensive experimental and theoretical evidence that La$_7$Ir$_3$ is a noncentrosymmetric superconductor with conventional s-wave pairing, high electron-phonon coupling, and no signs of exotic superconductivity.

Contribution

It offers detailed transport, thermodynamic, and band structure analysis confirming s-wave superconductivity and clarifies the role of electron-phonon interactions in La$_7$Ir$_3$.

Findings

La$_7$Ir$_3$ exhibits a superconducting transition at ~2.3 K.

Heat capacity analysis indicates a dominant s-wave gap close to BCS theory.

First-principles calculations support electron-phonon coupling as the pairing mechanism.

Abstract

Superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric compounds has attracted sustained interest in the last decades. Here we present a detailed study on the transport, thermodynamic properties and the band structure of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor La$_7$Ir$_3$ ($T_c$ $\sim$2.3 K) that was recently proposed to break the time-reversal symmetry. It is found that La$_7$Ir$_3$ displays a moderately large electronic heat capacity (Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma_n$ $\sim$ 53.1 mJ/mol $\text{K}^2$) and a significantly enhanced Kadowaki-Woods ratio (KWR $\sim$ 32 $\mu\Omega$ cm mol$^2$ K$^2$ J$^{-2}$) that is greater than the typical value ($\sim$ 10 $\mu\Omega$ cm mol$^2$ K$^2$ J$^{-2}$) for strongly correlated electron systems. The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ was seen to be nicely described by the single-band Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model down to very low temperatures. The hydrostatic pressure effects on the superconductivity were also investigated. The heat capacity below $T_c$ reveals a dominant s-wave gap with the magnitude close to the BCS value. The first-principles calculations yield the electron-phonon coupling constant $\lambda$ = 0.81 and the logarithmically averaged frequency $\omega_{ln}$ = 78.5 K, resulting in a theoretical $T_c$ = 2.5 K, close to the experimental value. Our calculations suggest that the enhanced electronic heat capacity is more likely due to electron-phonon coupling, rather than the electron-electron correlation effects. Collectively, these results place severe constraints on any theory of exotic superconductivity in this system.