Rare-earth atoms on Nb(110) as a platform to engineer topological superconductivity
Creators
- 1. Peter Grünberg Institut, Forschungszentrum Jülich and JARA, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- 2. Institute for Theoretical Physics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- 3. Physikalisches Institut, Experimentelle Physik II, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- 4. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen-Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- 5. Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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Description
Our study reveals how Gd adatoms and dimers on a superconducting Nb(110) surface induce Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states, offering valuable insights into magnetic interactions of rare-earth atoms on superconducting surfaces. By engineering Gd dimers along the [1-10] and [001] directions, we uncover an indirect coupling between the Gd magnetic moments and the Nb substrate via their valence d electrons, leading to significant alterations in the YSR spectrum around the dimers. We further demonstrate the possibility for Néel-type spin-spiral ground states in chains of Gd atoms on Nb(110). These findings highlight the potential of 4f elements like Gd as a promising platform for controlling a spin-spiral ground state, a crucial prerequisite for realizing a topological superconductor that can host Majorana zero modes. The combination of theoretical modeling based on density functional theory, atomistic spin-dynamics simulations and experimental techniques, including scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, provides a comprehensive understanding of the coupling mechanisms and their impact on the electronic properties of these systems and establishes rare-earth magnets on Nb as a promising platform in the field. This dataset collects the experimental and theoretical results of this work.
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References
Preprint (Paper where the data is discussed) D. Antognini Silva, Yu Wang, N. Atodiresei, F. Friedrich, S. Blügel, M. Bode, P. Rüßmann, and A. Odobesko, in preparation (2024)
Software (Source code for the AiiDA-KKR plugin) P. Rüßmann, F. Bertoldo, J. Bröder, J. Wasmer, R. Mozumder, J. Chico, and S. Blügel, Zenodo (2021), doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3628251
Journal reference (AiiDA-KKR method paper) P. Rüßmann, F. Bertoldo, and S. Blügel, The AiiDA-KKR plugin and its application to high-throughput impurity embedding into a topological insulator. npj Comput Mater 7, 13 (2021), doi: 10.1038/s41524-020-00482-5
Software (Source code of the JuKKR code) The JuKKR developers, JuDFTteam/JuKKR: v3.6 (v3.6), Zenodo. (2022), doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7284739