Metastable photo-induced superconductivity far above T c

Journal article

Inspired by the striking discovery of metastable superconductivity in K3C60 at 100K, far above Tc = 20 K, we discuss possible mechanisms for long-lived, photo-induced superconductivity. Starting from a model of optically-driven Raman phonons coupled to inter-band electronic transitions, we develop a microscopic mechanism for photo-controlling the pairing interaction. Leveraging this mechanism, we first investigate long-lived superconductivity arising from the thermodynamic metastable trapping of the driven phonon. We then propose an alternative route, where the superconducting gap created by an optical drive leads to a dynamical bottleneck in the equilibration of quasi-particles. We conclude by discussing the implications of both scenarios for experiments that can be used to discriminate between them. Our work provides falsifiable explanations for the nanosecond-scale photo-induced superconductivity found in K3C60, while simultaneously offering a theoretical basis for exploring metastable superconductivity in other quantum materials.

Authors: Chattopadhyay, S; Eckhardt, CJ; Kennes, DM; Sentef, MA; Shin, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Journal: npj Quantum Materials
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 34
• Publication date: 2025-03-28
• Acceptance date: 2025-03-10
• DOI: 10.1038/s41535-025-00750-x
• EISSN: 2397-4648
• Language: English