Superconductivity’s left flank explained by nuclear quantum effects

Yu-Cheng Zhu, Jia-Xi Zeng and Xin-Zheng Li of Peking University report the discovery of a previously unknown lattice quantum disordered phase within superconductors. Their work reveals this phase occupies a triangular region in the P-T phase diagram, with its left boundary aligning precisely with the critical temperature where superconductivity begins on a material’s “left flank.” Identifying this alignment, the researchers establish lattice quantum disorder as a key component of the superconducting pairing mechanism and a unifying framework for both predicting new superconductors and understanding condensed matter physics more broadly. Prevailing models of superconductivity have long centered on electron behavior. But new calculations reveal a previously unrecognized lattice quantum disordered (LQD) phase that precisely defines the onset of superconductivity on one side of the material’s performance range. This phase, discovered through first-principles calculations incorporating nuclear quantum…