Realization of low-energy Dirac fermions in (Ir$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$)Te$_2$ superconductors

Binbin Fu, Changjiang Yi, Zhijun Wang, Meng Yang, Baiqing Lv, Xin Gao, Man Li, Yaobo Huang, Chen Fang, Hongming Weng, Youguo Shi, Tian Qian, Hong Ding

Published 2017-12-07Version 1

Superconducting and topological states are two distinct quantum states of matter. Superconductors with topologically nontrivial electronic states provide a platform to study the interplay between them. Recent study revealed that a bulk superconductor PdTe2 is a topological Dirac semimetal with type-II Dirac fermions. However, the Dirac fermions in PdTe2 have no contribution to the superconducting pair because the Dirac points reside far below the Fermi level (EF). Here, we show that in the isostructural compounds (Ir1-xPtx)Te2, the type-II Dirac points can be adjusted to EF by element substitution at x ~ 0.1, for which the bulk superconductivity appears near 2 K. The (Ir1-xPtx)Te2 superconductor with the Dirac points at EF paves the way for studying the relevant exotic physical phenomena such as topological superconductivity in Dirac semimetals.