Observation of the spin-polarized surface state in a noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27819655.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms13315 and PMC identifier 5103058.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Recently, noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd has attracted considerable research interest due to the possibility of hosting topological superconductivity. Here we report a systematic high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and spin-resolved ARPES study of the normal state electronic and spin properties of BiPd. Our experimental results show the presence of a surface state at higher-binding energy with the location of Dirac point at around 700 meV below the Fermi level. The detailed photon energy, temperature-dependent and spin-resolved ARPES measurements complemented by our first-principles calculations demonstrate the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at high-binding energy. The absence of such spin-polarized surface states near the Fermi level negates the possibility of a topological superconducting behaviour on the surface. Our direct experimental observation of spin-polarized surface states in BiPd provides critical information that will guide the future search for topological superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric materials.