Detecting superconductivity in the high pressure hydrides and metallic hydrogen from optical properties

TL;DR

This paper introduces a non-invasive optical method to determine the critical temperature of high-pressure superconducting hydrides by analyzing temperature-dependent reflectance in the multiphonon spectral region.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel optical technique for measuring Tc in high-pressure superconductors without electrical contacts, utilizing reflectance changes related to the superconducting order parameter.

Findings

Reflectance mirrors the temperature variation of the superconducting order parameter.

A cusp at Tc in the reflectance temperature dependence allows Tc measurement.

Method applicable to metallic hydrogen and hydrides under high pressure.

Abstract

We present a new technique for measuring the critical temperature Tc in the high pressure, high Tc electron-phonon-driven superconducting hydrides. This technique does not require connecting leads to the sample. In the multiphonon region of the absorption spectrum, the reflectance mirrors the temperature variation of the superconducting order parameter. For an appropriately chosen value of photon energy of order twice the gap plus 1.5 times the maximum phonon energy, the temperature dependence of the reflectance varies much more rapidly below T=Tc than above. It increases with increasing temperature in the superconducting state while it decreases in the normal state. Examining the temperature dependence of the reflectance at a fixed photon energy, there is a cusp at T=Tc which provides a measurement of the critical temperature. We discuss these issues within the context of the recently observed metallic phase of hydrogen.