Observation of Two-Dimensional Bulk Electronic States in a Superconducting Topological Insulator Heterostructure Cux(PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)6: Implications for Unconventional Superconductivity

Abstract

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on Cux(PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)6 (CPSBS; x = 1.47), a superconductor derived from a topological insulator heterostructure, to elucidate the electronic states relevant to the occurrence of possible unconventional superconductivity. Upon Cu intercalation into the parent compound (PbSe)5(Bi2Se3)6, we observed a distinct energy shift of the bulk conduction band due to electron doping. Photon-energy dependent ARPES measurements of CPSBS revealed that the observed bulk band forms a cylindrical electronlike Fermi surface at the Brillouin-zone center. The two-dimensional nature of the bulk electronic states suggests the occurrence of odd-parity Eu pairing or even-parity d-wave pairing, both of which may provide a platform of Majorana bound states in the superconducting state.