Mechanical control of crystal symmetry and superconductivity in Weyl semimetal MoTe2

Colin Heikes, I. Lin Liu, Tristin Metz, Chris Eckberg, Paul Neves, Yan Wu, Linda Hung, Phil Piccoli, Huibo Cao, Juscelino Leao, Johnpierre Paglione, Taner Yildirim, Nicholas P. Butch, William Ratcliff

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52 Scopus citations

Abstract

The noncentrosymmetric Weyl semimetal candidate MoTe2 was investigated through neutron-diffraction and transport measurements at pressures up to 1.5 GPa and at temperatures down to 40 mK. Centrosymmetric and noncentrosymmetric structural phases were found to coexist in the superconducting state. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the strength of the electron-phonon coupling is similar for both crystal structures. Furthermore, it was found that by controlling nonhydrostatic components of stress, it is possible to mechanically control the ground-state crystal structure. This allows for the tuning of crystal symmetry in the superconducting phase from centrosymmetric to noncentrosymmetric. DFT calculations support this strain control of crystal structure. This mechanical control of crystal symmetry gives a route to tuning the band topology of MoTe2 and possibly the topology of the superconducting state.

Original languageEnglish
Article number074202
JournalPhysical Review Materials
Volume2
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 30 2018

Funding

We acknowledge useful discussions with C. M. Brown. Certain trade names and company products are identified in order to specify adequately the experimental procedure. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the products are necessarily the best for the purpose. This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Research at the University of Maryland was supported by AFOSR through Grant No. FA9550-14-1-0332 and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundations EPiQS Initiative through Grant No. GBMF4419. Support for P.N. was provided by the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering, a partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. DMR-1508249.

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