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Theory of the high-frequency chiral optical response in a p_x+ip_y superconductor

Victor M. Yakovenko
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Abstract

The optical Hall conductivity and the polar Kerr angle are calculated as functions of temperature for a two-dimensional chiral p_x+ip_y superconductor, where the time-reversal symmetry is spontaneously broken. The theoretical estimate for the polar Kerr angle agrees by the order of magnitude with the recent experimental measurement in Sr2RuO4 by Xia et al. cond-mat/0607539. The theory predicts that the Kerr angle is proportional to the square of the superconducting energy gap and is inversely proportional to the cube of frequency, which can be verified experimentally.

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Victor M. Yakovenko. 2007-02-25. Theory of the high-frequency chiral optical response in a p_x+ip_y superconductor. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.98.087003

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