NewsPhysics

Researchers have successfully observed a supercurrent effect in a material that exhibits both superconductivity and charge density waves (CDW). This finding is significant because it provides new insight into the interaction between these two quantum phases of matter, which often compete with each other. Superconductivity allows the flow of electrical current without resistance, while CDWs are periodic modulations of the electron charge density in a material, which can suppress superconductivity.

The experiment focused on a material where superconductivity and CDWs coexist and are entangled. By applying a current across a Josephson junction formed with this material, scientists were able to detect a supercurrent flowing through the CDW region. This suggests that, despite the presence of charge density waves, Cooper pairs (responsible for superconductivity) can tunnel through these barriers, or that CDWs do not completely impede coherent charge transport. This result challenges some previous notions about the incompatibility of these phases.

“Researchers have successfully observed a supercurrent effect in a material that exhibits both superconductivity and charge density waves (CDW).”