Anomalously small superconducting gap in a strong spin-orbit coupled superconductor: beta-tungsten

Thin films of beta-tungsten host superconductivity in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling. This nonequilibrium crystalline phase of tungsten has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to its giant spin Hall effect and the potential promise of exotic superconductivity. However, more than 60 years after its discovery, superconductivity in this material is still not well understood. Using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy, we measure the frequency response of the complex optical conductivity of beta-tungsten thin film with a T-c of 3.7 K in its superconducting state. At temperatures down to 1.6 K, we find that both the superconducting gap and the superfluid spectral weight are much smaller than that expected for a weakly coupled superconductor given the T-c. The conclusion of a small gap holds up even when accounting for possible inhomogeneities in the system, which could come from other crystalline forms of tungsten (that are not superconducting at these temperatures) or surface states on beta tungsten grains. Using detailed x-ray diffraction measurements, we preclude the possibility of significant amounts of other tungsten allotropes, suggesting the topological surface states of beta-tungsten could play the role of inhomogeneity in these films. Our observations pose a challenge and opportunity for a theory of strongly anisotropic normal metals with strong spin-orbit coupling to be described.