Topological electron and phonon flat bands in novel kagome superconductor XPd5 (X=Ca, Sr, Ba)

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of coexisting topological electronic and phononic flat bands in a novel kagome superconductor XPd5, revealing insights into emergent quantum phenomena and superconductivity driven by geometric frustration.

Contribution

It uncovers the coexistence of topological electronic and phononic flat bands in XPd5 and introduces a new framework to understand phononic flat bands in quantum materials.

Findings

Electronic flat band with nontrivial Z2 invariant near Fermi level.

Multiple van Hove singularities with distinct features.

Superconducting critical temperatures for CaPd5, SrPd5, BaPd5.

Abstract

Fermionic and bosonic localized states induced by geometric frustration in the kagome lattice provide a distinctive research platform for investigating emergent exotic quantum phenomena in strongly correlated systems. Here, we report the discovery of coexisting electronic and phononic flat bands induced by geometric frustration in a novel kagome superconductor XPd5 (X=Ca, Sr, Ba). The electronic flat band is located around the Fermi level and possesses a nontrivial topological invariant with Z2=1. Additionaly, we identify multiple van Hove singularities (vHS) arise from the kagome Pd d orbitals with distinct dispersion and sublattice features, including conventional, higher-order vHS and p-type, m-type vHS. Specifically, our investigation of the vibrational modes of the phononic flat band reveals that its formation originates from destructive interference between adjacent kagome lattice sites with antiphase vibrational modes. A spring-mass model of phonons is established to probe the physical mechanism of the phononic flat bands. Furthermore, the calculations of electron-phonon coupling in the XPd5 reveal superconducting ground states with critical temperatures (Tc) of 4.25 K, 2.75 K, and 3.35 K for CaPd5, SrPd5, and BaPd5, respectively. This work provides a promising platform to explore the Fermion-boson many-body interplay and superconducting states, while simultaneously establishing a novel analytical framework to elucidate the origin of phononic flat bands in quantum materials.