By measuring point-contact Andreev reflection spectra in the newly discovered chromium-based quasi-one-dimensional superconductor RbCr$_{3}$As$_{3}$, we find clear evidence of two superconducting components, one has a gap value of about 1.8… Click to show full abstract
By measuring point-contact Andreev reflection spectra in the newly discovered chromium-based quasi-one-dimensional superconductor RbCr$_{3}$As$_{3}$, we find clear evidence of two superconducting components, one has a gap value of about 1.8 meV and another about 5 meV. Detailed analysis finds that the larger gap possesses an $s$-wave nature, but the smaller gap exhibits a sharp peak feature near zero energy on the Andreev reflection spectrum manifesting a possible nodal gap. We then carry out the single-particle tunneling measurements based on a scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) by using the needle-like sample as the tip, and in this case the measuring current is parallel to the $k_z$ or [(Cr$_{3}$As$_{3}$)$^{-}$]$_\infty$-chain direction. The single-particle tunneling spectra show only one gap feature with the gap value of about 1.8 meV. Fitting to the single particle tunneling spectra tells that the gap should have a large anisotropy or even node(s). We argue that the smaller gap may be mainly contributed by the hybridized Fermi surface with a large weight coming from the quasi-1D bands. Therefore our results from combinatorial experiments of Andreev reflection and STS are consistent with the theoretical predictions for multi-band superconductivity and a possible $p$-wave superconducting gap along the [(Cr$_{3}$As$_{3}$)$^{-}$]$_\infty$-chain direction.
               
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