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Evidence for unconventional superconductivity in twisted trilayer graphene.

Authors :
Kim, Hyunjin
Choi, Youngjoon
Lewandowski, Cyprian
Thomson, Alex
Zhang, Yiran
Polski, Robert
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Alicea, Jason
Nadj-Perge, Stevan
Source :
Nature; Jun2022, Vol. 606 Issue 7914, p494-500, 7p
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene (MATTG) has emerged as a moiré material that exhibits strong electronic correlations and unconventional superconductivity1,2. However, local spectroscopic studies of this system are still lacking. Here we perform high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy of MATTG that reveal extensive regions of atomic reconstruction favouring mirror-symmetric stacking. In these regions, we observe symmetry-breaking electronic transitions and doping-dependent band-structure deformations similar to those in magic-angle bilayers, as expected theoretically given the commonality of flat bands3,4. Most notably in a density window spanning two to three holes per moiré unit cell, the spectroscopic signatures of superconductivity are manifest as pronounced dips in the tunnelling conductance at the Fermi level accompanied by coherence peaks that become gradually suppressed at elevated temperatures and magnetic fields. The observed evolution of the conductance with doping is consistent with a gate-tunable transition from a gapped superconductor to a nodal superconductor, which is theoretically compatible with a sharp transition from a Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superconductor to a Bose–Einstein-condensation superconductor with a nodal order parameter. Within this doping window, we also detect peak–dip–hump structures that suggest that superconductivity is driven by strong coupling to bosonic modes of MATTG. Our results will enable further understanding of superconductivity and correlated states in graphene-based moiré structures beyond twisted bilayers5.High-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy are used to provide evidence for unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00280836
Volume :
606
Issue :
7914
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Nature
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
157471839
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04715-z