Superconductivity and a van Hove singularity confined to the surface of a topological semimetal

TL;DR

This study reports the discovery of a surface-confined two-dimensional superconducting state with a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and a van Hove singularity in the topological semimetal ZrAs2, revealing new links between topology, correlations, and superconductivity.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first observation of surface-confined 2D superconductivity with a BKT transition and a van Hove singularity in a three-dimensional topological semimetal.

Findings

Surface-confined 2D superconductivity with BKT transition observed.

Presence of a van Hove singularity near the Fermi level on the surface.

Enhanced electronic correlations stabilize surface superconductivity.

Abstract

The interplay between electronic topology and superconductivity is the subject of great current interest in condensed matter physics. For example, superconductivity induced on the surface of topological insulators is predicted to be triplet in nature, while the interplay between electronic correlations and topology may lead to unconventional superconductivity as in twisted bilayer graphene. Here, we unveil an unconventional two-dimensional superconducting state in the recently discovered Dirac nodal line semimetal ZrAs2 which is exclusively confined to the top and bottom surfaces within the crystal's ab plane. As a remarkable consequence of this emergent state, we observe a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition, the hallmark of two-dimensional superconductivity. Notably, this is the first observation of a BKT transition on the surface of a three-dimensional system. Furthermore, employing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, we find that these same surfaces also host a two-dimensional van Hove singularity near the Fermi energy. The proximity of van Hove singularity to the Fermi level leads to enhanced electronic correlations contributing to the stabilization of superconductivity at the surface of ZrAs2, a unique phenomenon among topological semimetals. The surface-confined nature of the van Hove singularity, and associated superconductivity, realized for the first time, opens new avenues to explore the interplay between low-dimensional quantum topology, correlations, and superconductivity in a bulk material without resorting to the superconducting proximity effect.