The recent discovery of novel charge density wave (CDW) and pair density wave (PDW) in kagomé lattice superconductors AV₃Sb₅ (A=K, Rb, Cs) hints at unexpected time-reversal symmetry breaking correlated and topological states whose physical origin and broader implications are not understood. Here, we make conceptual advances toward a mechanism behind the striking observations and new predictions for novel macroscopic phase coherent quantum states. We show that the metallic CDW state with circulating loop currents is a doped orbital Cherninsulator near vanHove filling. The emergent Chern Fermi pockets (CFPs) carry concentrated Berry curvature and orbital magnetic moment. We find that the pairing of electrons on the CFPs leads to a superconducting state with an emergent vortex-antivortex lattice and the formationof a complex triple-QPDW. A plethora of correlated and topological states emerge, including a never-before-encountered chiral topological PDW superconductor, a loop-current pseudogap phase, and vestigial charge-4e and charge-6e superconductivity in staged melting of the vortex-antivortex lattice and hexatic liquid crystal. Our findings reveal previously unknown nature of the superconducting state of a current-carrying Chern metal, with broad implications for correlated and topological materials.

Link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34832-2

Contact:

Institute of Theoretical Physics

Sen Zhou

Email: zhousen@itp.ac.cn