- Letter
Isotropic single-gap superconductivity of elemental Pb
Phys. Rev. B 104, L100508 – Published 29 September, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.L100508
Abstract
The unconventional multigap superconductivity in elemental Pb were reported previously by the surface sensitive tunneling experiments as well as predicted by several theory works. To obtain bulk evidence for such multiple gap behavior, the thermodynamic critical-field was measured along three different crystallographic directions ([100], [110], and [111]) in a high-quality Pb single crystal by means of muon spin rotation/relaxation. No difference in temperature evolution of for all three directions was detected. The average reduced gap ( is the zero-temperature gap value, and is the transition temperature) was further obtained by employing the phenomenological model. Our results imply that the elemental Pb is an isotropic superconductor with a single energy gap.