A disorder-enhanced quasi-one-dimensional superconductor

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Mechanics

Background:

• Quasi-1D (q1D) materials, weakly coupled 1D chains, are crucial for studying strongly correlated matter.
• These materials exhibit long-range order but are sensitive to interactions and disorder due to anisotropy.
• They offer potential for discovering novel emergent electronic phases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of disorder on superconducting instabilities in q1D materials.
• To explore the potential for disorder to tune or induce new correlated electron physics.
• To examine the behavior of single crystals of Na2-δMo6Se6, a q1D superconductor.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of single crystals of Na2-δMo6Se6.
• Experimental investigation of superconducting properties under varying conditions.
• Theoretical analysis of Coulomb interactions and disorder effects in q1D systems.

Main Results:

• Observed unprecedented enhancement of superconducting instability due to disorder in Na2-δMo6Se6.
• Demonstrated that disorder-enhanced Coulomb pair-breaking can be mitigated in these systems.
• Identified a screened long-range Coulomb repulsion as a key factor in disordered q1D materials.

Conclusions:

• Disorder can play a constructive role in enhancing superconductivity in specific low-dimensional materials.
• The findings challenge the general notion that disorder is detrimental to superconductivity.
• This work highlights the potential of disordered q1D materials for novel correlated electron phenomena.