arXiv subjects

James F. Annett

Publications and source records attributed to James F. Annett.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Relativistic analysis of the pairing symmetry of the noncentrosymmetric superconductor LaNiC$_2$

We present a relativistic symmetry analysis of the allowed pairing states in the noncentroymmetric superconductor LaNiC$_2$. The case of zero spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is discussed first and then the evolution of the symmetry-allowed superconducting instabilities as SOC is adiabatically turned on is described. In addition to mixing singlet with triplet pairing, SOC splits some triplet pairing states with degenerate order parameter spaces into non-degenerate pairing states with different critical temperatures. We address the breaking of time-reversal symmetry (TRS) detected in recent muon spin relaxation experiments and show that it is only compatible with such non-unitary triplet pairing states. In particular, an alternative scenario featuring conventional singlet pairing with a small admixture of triplet pairing is shown to be incompatible with the experimental data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Critical current of a Josephson junction containing a conical magnet

We calculate the critical current of a superconductor/ferromagnetic/superconductor (S/FM/S) Josephson junction in which the FM layer has a conical magnetic structure composed of an in-plane rotating antiferromagnetic phase and an out-of-plane ferromagnetic component. In view of the realistic electronic properties and magnetic structures that can be formed when conical magnets such as Ho are grown with a polycrystalline structure in thin-film form by methods such as direct current sputtering and evaporation, we have modeled this situation in the dirty limit with a large magnetic coherence length ($ξ_f$). This means that the electron mean free path is much smaller than the normalized spiral length $λ/2π$ which in turn is much smaller than $ξ_f$ (with $λ$ as the length a complete spiral makes along the growth direction of the FM). In this physically reasonable limit we have employed the linearized Usadel equations: we find that the triplet correlations are short ranged and manifested in the critical current as a rapid oscillation on the scale of $λ/2π$. These rapid oscillations in the critical current are superimposed on a slower oscillation which is related to the singlet correlations. Both oscillations decay on the scale of $ξ_f$. We derive an analytical solution and also describe a computational method for obtaining the critical current as a function of the conical magnetic layer thickness.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Magnetic field induced rotation of the d-vector in the spin triplet superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$

In zero magnetic field the superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is believed to have a chiral spin triplet pairing state in which the gap function d-vector is aligned along the crystal c-axis. Using a phenomenological but orbital specific description of the spin dependent electron-electron attraction and a realistic quantitative account of the electronic structure in the normal state we analyze the orientation of the spin triplet Cooper pair d-vector in response to an external c-axis magnetic field. We show that for suitable values of the model parameters a c-axis field of only 20 mT is able to cause a reorientation phase transition of the d-vector from along $c$ to the $a-b$ plane, in agreement with recent experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Variational QMC study of a Hydrogen atom in jellium with comparison to LSDA and LSDA-SIC solutions

A Hydrogen atom immersed in a finite jellium sphere is solved using variational quantum Monte Carlo (VQMC). The same system is also solved using density functional theory (DFT), in both the local spin density (LSDA) and self-interaction correction (SIC) approximations. The immersion energies calculated using these methods, as functions of the background density of the jellium, are found to lie within 1eV of each other with minima in approximately the same positions. The DFT results show overbinding relative to the VQMC result. The immersion energies also suggest an improved performance of the SIC over the LSDA relative to the VQMC results. The atom-induced density is also calculated and shows a difference between the methods, with a more extended Friedel oscillation in the case of the VQMC result.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Spin-Orbit Coupling and Symmetry of the Order Parameter in Strontium Ruthenate

Determination of the orbital symmetry of a state in spin triplet Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ superconductor is a challenge of considerable importance. Most of the experiments show that the chiral state of the $\hat{z} (k_x \pm ik_y)$ type is realized and remains stable on lowering the temperature. Here we have studied the stability of various superconducting states of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Numerically we found that the chiral state is never the minimum energy. Alone among the five states studied it has $<{\bf \hat L}.{\bf \hat S} >=0$ and is therefore not affected to linear order in the coupling parameter $λ$. We found that stability of the chiral state requires spin dependent pairing interactions. This imposes strong constraint on the pairing mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Gap Nodes and Time Reversal Symmetry Breaking in Strontium Ruthenate

We study the superconducting state of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ on the bases of a phenomenological but orbital specific description of the electron-electron attraction and a realistic quantitative account of the electronic structure in the normal state. We found that a simple model which features both `in plane' and `out of plane' coupling with strengths $U_{\parallel}=40$meV and $U_{\perp}=48$meV respectively reproduced the experimentally observed power law behaviour of the low temperature specific heat $C_v(T)$, superfluid density $n_s(T)$ and thermal conductivity in quantitative detail. Moreover, it predicts that the quasi-particle spectrum on the $γ$ -sheet is fully gaped and the corresponding order parameter breaks the time reversal symmetry. We have also investigated the stability of this model to inclusion of further interaction constants in particular %those which describe `proximity coupling' between orbitals contributing to the $γ$ sheet of the Fermi surface and the $α$ and $β$ sheets. We found that the predictions of the model are robust under such changes. Finally, we have incorporated a description of weak disorder into the model and explored some of its consequences. For example we demonstrated that the disorder has a more significant effect on the $f$-wave component of the order parameter than on the p-wave one.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

The gap equations for spin singlet and triplet ferromagnetic superconductors

We derive gap equations for superconductivity in coexistence with ferromagnetism. We treat singlet states and triplet states with either equal spin pairing (ESP) or opposite spin pairing (OSP) states, and study the behaviour of these states as a function of exchange splitting. For the s-wave singlet state we find that our gap equations correctly reproduce the Clogston--Chandrasekhar limiting behaviour and the phase diagram of the Baltensperger--Sarma equation (excluding the FFLO region). The singlet superconducting order parameter is shown to be independent of exchange splitting at zero temperature, as is assumed in the derivation of the Clogston--Chandrasekhar limit. P-wave triplet states of the OSP type, behave similarly to the singlet state as a function of exchange splitting. On the other hand, ESP triplet states show a very different behaviour. In particular there is no Clogston--Chandrasekhar limiting and the superconducting critical temperature is actually increased by exchange splitting.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Competition between disorder and exchange splitting in superconducting ZrZn_2

We propose a simple picture for the occurrence of superconductivity and the pressure dependence of the superconducting critical temperature, T_{SC}, in ZrZn_2. According to our hypothesis the pairing potential is independent of pressure, but the exchange splitting, E_{xc}, leads to a pressure dependence in the (spin dependent) density of states at the Fermi level, D_σ(ε_F). Assuming p-wave pairing T_{SC} is dependent on D_σ(ε_F) which ensures that, in the absence of non-magnetic impurities, T_{SC} decreases as pressure is applied until it reaches a minimum in the paramagnetic state. Disorder reduces this minimum to zero, this gives the illusion that the superconductivity disappears at the same pressure as ferromagnetism does.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

The Behavior of a Triplet Superconductor in a Spin Only Magnetic Field

We investigate the order parameter of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ in an exchange-only magnetic field. A Ginzburg-Landau symmetry analysis implies three possibilities: a pure $^3$He A phase, a $^3$He A$_1$ or a $^3$He A$_2$ phase. We explore the exchange field dependence of the order parameter and energy gap in a one-band model of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. The numerical solutions show no A$_1$ phase and that the A$_2$ phase is lower in free energy than the A phase. We explore heat capacity as a function of temperature and field strength and find quantitatively different behaviors for the A and A$_2$ phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Interlayer Coupling and p-wave Pairing in Strontium Ruthenate

On the basis of a three orbital model and an effective attractive interaction between electrons we investigate the possible superconducting states, with $p$ and $f$-wave internal symmetry, of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. For an orbital dependent interaction which acts between in plane and out of plane nearest neighbour Ruthenium atoms we find a state for which the gap in the quasi-particle spectra has a line node on the $α$ and $β$ sheets of the Fermi Surface, but it is complex with no nodes on the $γ$-sheet. We show that this state is consistent with all the available experimental data. In particular, we present the results of our calculations of the specific heat and penetration depth as functions of the temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

Phase Slips and Interfaces in D-Wave Superconductors

We consider a model (100) interface between two d-wave superconductors. By solving the Bogoliubov de Gennes equation on a tight binding lattice, we study the properties of the interface as a function of the interface barrier. We contrast the two scenarios: (i) an order parameter phase difference of $θ=0$ across the interface, and (ii) a phase slip of $θ=π$ across the interface. We find resonant sub-gap structure in the density of states only when there is a phase slip present. We show that the local s-wave and ``p-wave like'' order parameter components are strongly influenced by the barrier profile and by the phase slip. The temperature dependence of the local p-wave order parameter follows the underlying bulk $T_c$ for p-wave superconductivity implying that this could be measured by a suitable tunneling experiment. We also calculate the Josephson critical current as a function of the strength of the insulating barrier at the interface.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1999

BCS to Bose Crossover in Anisotropic Superconductors

In this work we use functional integral techniques to examine the nearest neighbour attractive Hubbard model on a quasi-2D lattice. It is a simple phenomenological model for the high-Tc cuprates that allows both extended (non-local) s- and d-wave singlet superconductivity as well as mixed symmetry states. The Hartree-Gor'kov mean field theory of the model has a finite temperature phase diagram which shows a transition from pure s-wave to pure d-wave superconductivity, via a mixed symmetry s+id state, as a function of doping. Including Gaussian fluctuations we examine the crossover from weak-coupling BCS superconductivity to the strong-coupling Bose-Einstein condensation of composite s- or d-wave bosons and comment on the origin and symmetry of the pseudogap.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Tilt Grain-Boundary Effects in S- and D-Wave Superconductors

We calculate the s- and d-wave superconductor order parameter in the vicinity of a tilt grain boundary. We do this self-consistently within the Bogoliubov de Gennes equations, using a realistic microscopic model of the grain boundary. We present the first self-consistent calculations of supercurrent flows in such boundaries, obtaining the current-phase characteristics of grain boundaries in both s-wave and d-wave superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

S- and D-Wave Pairing in Short Coherence Length Superconductors

We derive an appropriate Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson effective action to describe the nearest neighbour attractive Hubbard model. This allows us to discuss both the small V (BCS) limit and the large V (Bose-Einstein) limit within the same framework. The model is particularly interesting as it exhibits both extended s-wave and d-wave solutions as well as an intermediate s+id phase and an unstable p-wave phase. We note that in the large V limit, as pairs become localised on bonds, the s- and d-wave solutions become degenerate.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv1998

Quasipartice Spectra in the Hubbard Model

We examine the quasiparticle lifetime and spectral weight near the Fermi surface in the two-dimensional Hubbard model. We use the FLEX approximation to self-consistently generate the Matsubara Green's functions and then we analytically continue to the real axis to obtain the quasiparticle spectral functions. We compare the spectral functions found in the nearest neighbor hopping only Hubbard model with those found when second neighbor hopping is included. This separates the effects of nesting, the Van Hove singularity and the short-ranged antiferromagnetic correlations. The quasiparticle scattering rate is enhanced along the (0,pi) to (pi,pi) Brillouin zone diagonal. When the density is close to half-filling these 'hot-spots' lie on the Fermi surface and the scattering rate increases with decreasing temperature. For the next-nearest neighbor hopping scenario we observe a large range of doping where there is no antiferromagnetism but the scattering rate has a linear temperature dependence. On decreasing the interaction this non-Fermi liquid behavior is confined to doping levels where the Fermi energy lies near to the Van Hove singularity. We conclude that the 'hot-spots' are associated with the antiferromagnetic phase transition while the linear temperature dependence of the scattering rate is associated with the Van Hove singularity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv1997

Discrete Symmetries and Transformations of the Hubbard Model

We show that, in addition to SO(4), the Hubbard model at half filling on a bipartite lattice has a group of discrete symmetries and transformations. A unique Hubbard-Stratonovich decomposition of the interaction term, incorporating both spin and pseudospin variables on an equal footing, is found in which these symmetries are manifestly present. The consequences of this at the mean field and one loop renormalisation group levels are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗