Local condensation of charge-$4e$ superconductivity at a nematic domain wall
Abstract
In the fluctuation regime that precedes the onset of pairing in multi-component superconductors, such as nematic and chiral superconductors, the normal state is generally unstable towards the formation of charge- order an exotic quantum state in which electrons form coherent quartets rather than Cooper pairs. However, charge- order is often suppressed by other competing composite orders, such as nematics. Importantly, the formation of nematic domains is unavoidable due to the long-range strains generated, leading to one-dimensional regions where the competing nematic order is suppressed. Here, we employ a real-space variational approach to demonstrate that, in such nematic domain walls, charge- order is locally condensed via a vestigial-order mechanism. We explore the experimental manifestations of this effect and discuss materials in which it can be potentially observed.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2311.02005,
title = {Local condensation of charge-$4e$ superconductivity at a nematic domain wall},
author = {Matthias Hecker and Rafael M. Fernandes},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.02005},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
8 pages, 3 figures