About this Research Topic
There’s been tremendous activity in new heavy fermion superconductors to understand both their fundamental properties as well as for the tantalizing prospect of their application in quantum computers and quantum information transmission. Arguably one of the most interesting new areas in superconductivity concerns the heavy-fermion superconductor UTe2, which exhibits exotic properties such as two-component order parameters, multiple superconducting regimes, time-reversal symmetry breaking with possible Weyl topological superconductivity, Majorana fermions, ferromagnetic spin fluctuations, etc. There are quite a number of other heavy fermion superconductors that have recently been discovered, such as CeRh2As2, YbRh2Si2, etc. We invite papers on the exotic experimental and theoretical advances concerning recently discovered heavy fermion superconductors.
The goal of this Research Topic is to understand the nature of heavy-fermion superconductivity and its relationship to topological and Weyl superconductivity, as well as the practical implications for these materials in quantum computers and quantum information systems.
The central questions for superconductors are pairing mechanism and the symmetry of the order parameters. Superconductivity in YbRh2Si2 may be driven by nuclear spin fluctuations. CeRh2As2 is another newly discovered superconductor with two superconducting phases, which may have opposite symmetries. The phase transition could be driven by quadrupole density wave or Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling. There are clear theoretical proposals on the possible nature of the order parameter in UTe2, however, further experiments are needed to pin down the nature of the different superconducting phases in this system. While some ARPES data exist, the bulk and surface band structure of UTe2 is not yet established. A deeper understanding of the phases proximate to superconductivity as well as the the role and relationship of the nearby order parameters to superconductivity is needed. Overall, all these materials locate around quantum critical points where Kondo effect and other interactions compete which leads to rich phenomenology that is yet to be fully explored and understood.
The goal of this Research Topic is to understand the nature of heavy-fermion superconductivity and its relationship to topological and Weyl superconductivity, as well as the practical implications for these materials in quantum computers and quantum information systems.
The central questions for superconductors are pairing mechanism and the symmetry of the order parameters. Superconductivity in YbRh2Si2 may be driven by nuclear spin fluctuations. CeRh2As2 is another newly discovered superconductor with two superconducting phases, which may have opposite symmetries. The phase transition could be driven by quadrupole density wave or Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling. There are clear theoretical proposals on the possible nature of the order parameter in UTe2, however, further experiments are needed to pin down the nature of the different superconducting phases in this system. While some ARPES data exist, the bulk and surface band structure of UTe2 is not yet established. A deeper understanding of the phases proximate to superconductivity as well as the the role and relationship of the nearby order parameters to superconductivity is needed. Overall, all these materials locate around quantum critical points where Kondo effect and other interactions compete which leads to rich phenomenology that is yet to be fully explored and understood.
Keywords: YbRh2Si2, New heavy fermion superconductors, Weyl superconductors, Majorana fermions, UTe2, CeRh2As2, Quantum fluctuations
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