Unusual Resistive Transitions in the Nodal-Line Semimetallic Superconductor NaAlSi

TL;DR

This study investigates unusual resistive behaviors in NaAlSi, a nodal-line semimetal superconductor, revealing surface-related fractional superconductivity with anisotropic magnetic field responses.

Contribution

It reports the discovery of surface or fractional superconductivity phenomena in NaAlSi, characterized by anisotropic resistive transitions and a potential surface state contribution.

Findings

Resistivity drops significantly above bulk Tc when magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane.

Surface or fractional superconductivity may exist on the crystal's side surfaces.

Superconducting properties show strong dependence on sample thickness and electrode configuration.

Abstract

NaAlSi is a quasi-two-dimensional semimetal with superconductivity below Tc = 6.8 K and a band structure characterized by nodal lines near the Fermi level and potential topological surface states. Electrical resistivity measurements on its superconducting transitions in magnetic fields were made using plate-like single crystals. In the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram, we observed a substantial reduction in resistivity in a pre-transitional zone above the bulk superconducting regime only when the magnetic fields were perpendicular to the plane, rather than parallel to it. Significant sample (thickness) dependence, reentrant behavior, and sensitivity to electrode configurations all indicate that a portion of the crystal has an upper critical field greater than the bulk superconductivity in the pre-transitional region. This fractional superconductivity may occur on the side surface of the crystal.