NMR/NQR and AC-susceptibility Studies in the Weyl Semimetal Superconductor 1T-MoTe$_2$ under Pressure

TL;DR

This study investigates the superconducting properties of 1T-MoTe$_2$ under pressure using NMR, NQR, and AC susceptibility, revealing strong-coupling superconductivity and potential unconventional pairing mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed pressure-dependent NMR and AC susceptibility analysis of 1T-MoTe$_2$, highlighting deviations from conventional models and evidence for unconventional superconductivity.

Findings

Superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ increases with pressure.

Superconductivity exhibits strong-coupling characteristics.

Possible unconventional pairing indicated by absence of coherence peak.

Abstract

We performed the Te-nuclear magnetic resonance, the Mo-nuclear quadrupole resonance, and the AC susceptibility in the Weyl semimetal superconductor 1T-MoTe$_2$ at pressures up to 2.17~GPa. From the temperature and pressure dependence of the AC susceptibility, the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ and the upper critical field $H_{\mathrm{c2}}$ were estimated. The results deviate from the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model but are well described by $H_{\mathrm{c2}}(T)=H_{\mathrm{c2}}(0)[1-T/T_{\mathrm{c}}]^{\alpha}$. The latter fit yields $H_{\mathrm{c2}}(0)=1.50$~T, $T_{\mathrm{c}}=3.81$K, and $\alpha=1.1$ at 2.17GPa, suggesting that the superconductivity lies in a strong-coupling regime. Since the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by temperature, $1/T_1T$, follows the Korringa relation at ambient pressure, the increase in $1/T_1T$ with pressure up to approximately 0.7~GPa indicates an increase in the density of states (DOS), $N(E_\mathrm F)$. This trend mirrors the pressure dependence of $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ in the low-pressure region, consistent with the BCS mechanism. Above 0.7~GPa, however, $N(E_\mathrm F)$ slightly decreases while $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ continues to rise, suggesting an additional pairing contribution beyond the conventional BCS picture. In the 1T$^{\prime}$ phase at 2.17~GPa, the absence of a coherence peak in $1/T_1T$ around $T_{\mathrm c}$, accompanied by a two-step decrease just below $T_{\mathrm c}$, was observed, which may be a signature of unconventional superconductivity.