We report on time-resolved linear and nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy of the two-band superconductor $\mathrm{Mg}{\mathrm{B}}_2$ with a superconducting transition temperature $T_c\approx 36$ K. Third-harmonic generation (THG) is observed below $T_c$ by driving the system with intense narrow-band THz pulses. For the pump-pulse frequencies $f=0.3$, 0.4, and 0.5 THz, the temperature-dependent evolution of the THG signals exhibits a resonance maximum at the temperatures with the resonance conditions $2f=2{\mathrm{\Delta }}_{\pi }\left(T\right)$ fulfilled, for the dirty-limit superconducting gap $2{\mathrm{\Delta }}_{\pi }$. In contrast, for $f=0.6$ and 0.7 THz with $2f>2{\mathrm{\Delta }}_{\pi }(T\to 0)=1.03$ THz, the THG intensity increases monotonically with decreasing temperature. Moreover, for $2f<2{\mathrm{\Delta }}_{\pi }(T\to 0)$ the THG is found nearly isotropic with respect to the pump-pulse polarization. These results suggest a predominant contribution of the driven Higgs amplitude mode of the dirty-limit $\pi$-band superconducting gap, pointing to the importance of scattering for observation of the Higgs mode in superconductors.

Close

PrevNext

View figure in article

• Multiband superconductivity
• Optical conductivity
• Superconducting RF
• Superconducting fluctuations
• Superconducting gap
• Superconducting phase transition
• Third order nonlinear optical processes
• High-temperature superconductors
• Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy