Discovery of a pair density wave state in a monolayer high-Tc iron-based superconductor

Abstract: The pair density wave (PDW) is an extraordinary superconducting state where Cooper pairs carry nonzero momentum. It can emerge when the full condensation of zero momentum Cooper pairs is frustrated. Evidence for the existence of intrinsic PDW order in high-temperature (high-Tc) cuprate superconductors and kagome superconductors has emerged recently. However, the PDW order in iron-based high-Tc superconductors has not been observed experimentally. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, we report the discovery of the PDW state in monolayer iron-based high-Tc Fe(Te,Se) films grown on SrTiO3(001) substrates. The PDW state with a period of {\lambda}~3.6a_Fe (a_Fe is the distance between neighboring Fe atoms) is observed at the domain walls by the spatial electronic modulations of the local density of states, superconducting gap, and the {\pi}-phase shift boundaries of the PDW around the dislocations of the intertwined charge density wave order. The discovery of the PDW state in the monolayer Fe(Te,Se) film provides a low-dimensional platform to study the interplay between the correlated electronic states and unconventional Cooper pairing in high-Tc superconductors.