  New materials based on Kagome lattices, predicted to host exotic quantum
physics because they can display flat electronic bands, Dirac cones and
topologically nontrivial surface states, are strongly desired. Here we report
the crystal structure and superconducting properties of LaIr3Ga2, a previously
unreported material that is based on a Kagome lattice of the heavy atom Ir.
LaIr3Ga2 is a type II superconductor with Tc ~ 5.2 K, mu0Hc1 (0) ~ 7.1 mT and
mu0Hc2 (0) ~ 4.7 T. The normalized heat capacity jump at the superconducting
transition, (deltaC/gammaTc), 1.41, is within error of the value expected for a
weak coupling BCS superconductor (1.43). Strong electron-electron correlation
is inferred from the superconducting coherence length. Calculations show that
the influence of spin orbit coupling on the electronic structure is
significant, that the 5d states of the Ir in the Kagome planes are dominant
near the Fermi energy (EF), that a nearly flat band is calculated to occur at
about 100 meV below EF, and that two Dirac points are close to EF. This
material is of interest for investigating the coupling between topological
physics and superconductivity in a system with significant spin orbit coupling.
