Itahashi Yuki M, Ideue Toshiya, Hoshino Shintaro, Goto Chihiro, Namiki Hiromasa, Sasagawa Takao, Iwasa Yoshihiro
Quantum-Phase Electronics Center (QPEC) and Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan.
Department of Physics, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan.
Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 29;13(1):1659. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29314-4.
Nonreciprocal or even-order nonlinear responses in symmetry-broken systems are powerful probes of emergent properties in quantum materials, including superconductors, magnets, and topological materials. Recently, vortex matter has been recognized as a key ingredient of giant nonlinear responses in superconductors with broken inversion symmetry. However, nonlinear effects have been probed as excess voltage only under broken time-reversal symmetry. In this study, we report second harmonic transport under time-reversal symmetry in the noncentrosymmetric trigonal superconductor PbTaSe. The magnitude of anomalous nonlinear transport is two orders of magnitude larger than those in the normal state, and the directional dependence of nonlinear signals are fully consistent with crystal symmetry. The enhanced nonlinearity is semiquantitatively explained by the asymmetric Hall effect of vortex-antivortex string pairs in noncentrosymmetric systems. This study enriches the literature on nonlinear phenomena by elucidating quantum transport in noncentrosymmetric superconductors.