Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

J. A. Sauls

Publications and source records attributed to J. A. Sauls.

111 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

The Nonlinear Meissner Effect in Unconventional Superconductors

We examine the long-wavelength current response in anisotropic superconductors and show how the field-dependence of the Meissner penetration length can be used to detect the structure of the order parameter. Nodes in the excitation gap lead to a nonlinear current-velocity constitutive equation at low temperatures which is distinct for each symmetry class of the order parameter. The effective Meissner penetration length is linear in $H$ and exhibits a characteristic anisotropy for fields in the $ab$-plane that is determined by the positions of the nodes in momentum space. The nonlinear current-velocity relation also leads to an intrinsic magnetic torque for in-plane fields that are not parallel to a nodal or antinodal direction. The torque scales as $H^3$ for $T\rightarrow 0$ and has a characteristic angular dependence. We analyze the effects of thermal excitations, impurity scattering and geometry on the current response of a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ superconductor, and discuss our results in light of recent measurements of the low-temperature penetration length and in-plane magnetization of single-crystals of $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ and $LuBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$.

cond-mat↗

Comment on the Coupling of Zero Sound to the $J=1^-$ Modes of $^3$He-B

Features in the zero sound attenuation near the pair-breaking edge in superfluid $^3$He-B have been observed in large magnetic fields. Schopohl and Tewordt [{\sl J. Low Temp. Phys.} {\bf 57}, 601 (1984)] claim that the $J=1^-, M=\pm 1$ order-parameter collective modes couple to zero sound as a result of the distortion of the equilibrium order parameter by a magnetic field; they identify the new features with these modes. However, we show that, when the effect of gap distortion on the collective modes is properly taken into account, the collective mode equations of Schopohl and Tewordt yield no direct coupling of zero sound to the $J=1^-$ modes. Thus, the identification of the absorption features reported by Ling, Saunders and Dobbs [{\sl Phys. Rev. Lett.} {\bf 59}, 461 (1987)] near the pair-breaking edge with the $J=1^-$ modes is not clearly established.

cond-mat↗

Nonlinear Meissner Effect in CuO Superconductors

Recent theories of the NMR in the CuO superconductors are based on a spin-singlet $d_{x^2-y^2}$ order parameter. Since this state has nodal lines on the Fermi surface, nonlinear effects associated with low-energy quasiparticles become important, particularly at low temperatures. We show that the field-dependence of the supercurrent, below the nucleation field for vortices, can be used to locate the positions of the nodal lines of an unconventional gap in momentum space, and hence test the proposed $d_{x^2-y^2}$ state.

cond-mat↗