Tetrahedral and orbital pairing: a fully gapped pairing scenario for the iron-based superconductors

Fully gapped d-wave superconductivity in CeCu2Si2

Identifying the gap structure of superconductors is vital for understanding the underlying pairing mechanism of the Cooper pairs. The first heavy fermion superconductor to be discovered, CeCu₂Si₂, was thought to be a d-wave superconductor with gap nodes, until recent specific heat measurements provided evidence that the gap is fully open across the Fermi surface. We propose a resolution to this puzzle from measurements of the London penetration depth, which give further evidence for fully gapped superconductivity. We analyze the data using a d-wave band-mixing pairing model, which leads to a fully open superconducting gap. Our model accounts well for the penetration depth and specific heat data, while reconciling the nodeless and sign-changing nature of the gap function.

The nature of the pairing symmetry of the first heavy fermion superconductor CeCu₂Si₂ has recently become the subject of controversy. While CeCu₂Si₂ was generally believed to be a d-wave superconductor, recent low-temperature specific heat measurements showed evidence for fully gapped superconductivity, contrary to the nodal behavior inferred from earlier results. Here, we report London penetration depth measurements, which also reveal fully gapped behavior at very low temperatures. To explain these seemingly conflicting results, we propose a fully gapped d+d band-mixing pairing state for CeCu₂Si₂, which yields very good fits to both the superfluid density and specific heat, as well as accounting for a sign change of the superconducting order parameter, as previously concluded from inelastic neutron scattering results.

Concealed d-wave pairs in the s± condensate of iron-based superconductors

A central question in iron-based superconductivity is the mechanism by which the paired electrons minimize their strong mutual Coulomb repulsion. In most unconventional superconductors, Coulomb repulsion is minimized through the formation of higher angular momentum Cooper pairs, with Fermi surface nodes in the pair wavefunction. The apparent absence of such nodes in the iron-based superconductors has led to a belief they form an s-wave ([Formula: see text]) singlet state, which changes sign between the electron and hole pockets. However, the multiorbital nature of these systems opens an alternative possibility. Here, we propose a new class of [Formula: see text] state containing a condensate of d-wave Cooper pairs, concealed by their entanglement with the iron orbitals. By combining the d-wave ([Formula: see text]) motion of the pairs with the internal angular momenta [Formula: see text] of the iron orbitals to make a singlet ([Formula: see text]), an [Formula: see text] superconductor with a nontrivial topology is formed. This scenario allows us to understand the development of octet nodes in potassium-doped Ba1-x KXFe2As2 as a reconfiguration of the orbital and internal angular momentum into a high spin ([Formula: see text]) state; the reverse transition under pressure into a fully gapped state can then be interpreted as a return to the low-spin singlet. The formation of orbitally entangled pairs is predicted to give rise to a shift in the orbital content at the Fermi surface, which can be tested via laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.