Optimized unconventional superconductivity in a molecular Jahn-Teller metal.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26601168.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.1500059 and PMC identifier 4640631.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Understanding the relationship between the superconducting, the neighboring insulating, and the normal metallic state above T c is a major challenge for all unconventional superconductors. The molecular A3C60 fulleride superconductors have a parent antiferromagnetic insulator in common with the atom-based cuprates, but here, the C60 (3-) electronic structure controls the geometry and spin state of the structural building unit via the on-molecule Jahn-Teller effect. We identify the Jahn-Teller metal as a fluctuating microscopically heterogeneous coexistence of both localized Jahn-Teller-active and itinerant electrons that connects the insulating and superconducting states of fullerides. The balance between these molecular and extended lattice features of the electrons at the Fermi level gives a dome-shaped variation of T c with interfulleride separation, demonstrating molecular electronic structure control of superconductivity.