Determine the superconducting gap structure of PdTe

Determine whether superconductivity in PdTe is nodal or nodeless and multigap.

Background

PdTe is a type-I Dirac semimetal that also exhibits superconductivity with a transition temperature of approximately 4.25–4.6 K. Although its superconducting properties have been investigated in prior studies, the gap structure remains unresolved because different reports have reached conflicting conclusions. Resolving whether PdTe is a nodal or nodeless multigap superconductor is important for understanding its superconducting state and its potential relationship to its nontrivial electronic structure.

References

The nature of superconductivity in PdTe remains debated, with conflicting reports on whether it is a nodal or nodeless multigap superconductor .

— Observation of linear magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect in the Dirac semimetal PdTe  (2609.08675 - Mehra et al., 8 Sep 2026) in Section 1, Introduction

Although the single-gap $p$- and $d$-wave models considered here yield larger residuals than the fully gapped $s$-wave model, this comparison alone does not uniquely determine the microscopic pairing symmetry. The present data also do not uniquely distinguish among two fully opened gaps, a strongly anisotropic gap with multiple characteristic extrema, and a combination of bulk- and surface-sensitive superconducting responses.

— Field-resolved hierarchy of superconducting energy gaps in PdTe  (2610.12075 - Lee et al., 8 Oct 2026) in Section “Spectroscopic energy-scale hierarchy,” paragraph beginning “Although the single-gap p- and d-wave models”