Synergetic Ferroelectricity and Superconductivity in Zero-Density Dirac Semimetals near Quantum Criticality

Abstract

We study superconductivity in a three-dimensional zero-density Dirac semimetal in proximity to a ferroelectric quantum critical point. We find that the interplay of criticality, inversion-symmetry breaking, and Dirac dispersion gives rise to a robust superconducting state at the charge-neutrality point, where no Fermi surface is present. Using Eliashberg theory, we show that the ferroelectric quantum critical point is unstable against the formation of a ferroelectric density wave (FDW), whose fluctuations, in turn, lead to a first-order superconducting transition. Surprisingly, long-range superconducting and FDW orders are found to cooperate with each other, in contrast to the more usual scenario of phase competition. Therefore, we suggest that driving charge neutral Dirac materials, e.g., PbxSn1−xTe, through a ferroelectric quantum critical point may lead to superconductivity intertwined with FDW order.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Similar papers