Topological properties of ferromagnetic superconductors

Journal Article · Wed Apr 27 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.134516· OSTI ID:1257745

Cheung, Alfred K. C. ^[1]; Raghu, S. ^[2]

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1. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
2. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Here, a variety of heavy fermion superconductors, such as UCoGe, UGe², and URhGe exhibit a striking coexistence of bulk ferromagnetism and superconductivity. In the first two materials, the magnetic moment decreases with pressure, and vanishes at a ferromagnetic quantum critical point (qcp). Remarkably, the superconductivity in UCoGe varies smoothly with pressure across the qcp and exists in both the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic regimes. We argue that in UCoGe, spin-orbit interactions stabilize a time-reversal invariant odd-parity superconductor in the high pressure paramagnetic regime. Based on a simple phenomenological model, we predict that the transition from the paramagnetic normal state to the phase where superconductivity and ferromagnetism coexist is a first-order transition.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 1257745
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1249944
• Report Number(s): SLAC-PUB-16553
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Vol. 93, Issue 13; ISSN 2469-9950
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY