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TT: Fachverband Tiefe Temperaturen
TT 85: Superconductivity: Yu-Shiba-Rusinov and Andreev Physics
TT 85.2: Talk
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 15:15–15:30, CHE/0089
Rare-earth spin chains on superconducting Nb(110) surface — •Yu Wang1, Artem Odobesko1, and Matthias Bode1,2 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Experimentelle Physik II, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany — 2Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen-Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
Coupled Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states in 1D magnetic chains can yield topologically protected edge modes. While well explored for 3d transition metals, studies on 4f-shell rare-earth metals (REMs) remain scarce. Owing to their localized and shielded 4f orbitals, REMs such as Ce, Eu, Gd, Tb, and La provide a promising platform for weakly hybridized magnetic chains on superconductors.
We present a comparative study of YSR excitations in REM adatoms and chains on Nb(110). Building on previous Gd results [1-2], we extend the analysis to Tb and other REM chains along [110] and [001]. Spectra reveal orientation-dependent edge behavior: [110] chains host trivial end states, whereas [001] chains show zero-bias features consistent with non-trivial edge modes. The results highlight the impact of 4f magnetism on YSR band formation and topological superconductivity.
[1] Y. Wang et al., arXiv:2506.19514 (2025)
[2] Y. Wang et al., arXiv:2311.09742 (2023)
Keywords: Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states; Rare-earth metals; Topological superconductivity; Scanning Tunneling Microscopy