Thermodynamic transitions and topology of spin-triplet superconductivity: Application to UTe$_2$
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arXiv
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| Hauptverfasser: | , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2023
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| _version_ | 1866916133972475904 |
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| author | Røising, Henrik S. Geier, Max Kreisel, Andreas Andersen, Brian M. |
| author_facet | Røising, Henrik S. Geier, Max Kreisel, Andreas Andersen, Brian M. |
| contents | The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in the heavy-fermion material UTe$_2$ has reinvigorated research of spin-triplet superconductivity. We perform a theoretical study of coupled two-component spin-triplet superconducting order parameters and their thermodynamic transitions into the superconducting state. With focus on the behavior of the temperature dependence of the specific heat capacity, we find that two-component time-reversal symmetry breaking superconducting order may feature vanishing or even negative secondary specific heat anomalies. The origin of this unusual specific heat behavior is tied to the non-unitarity of the composite order parameter. Additionally, we supply an analysis of the topological surface states associated with the different possible spin-triplet orders: single-component orders host Dirac Majorana surface states in addition to possible bulk nodes. A second component breaking time-reversal symmetry gaps these surface states producing chiral Majorana hinge modes. DFT+$U$ band-structure calculations support that these topological phases are realized in UTe$_2$ when introducing weak superconducting pairing. Our topological analysis suggests measurable signatures for surface-probe experiments to acquire further evidence of the superconducting pairing symmetry. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_06097 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Thermodynamic transitions and topology of spin-triplet superconductivity: Application to UTe$_2$ Røising, Henrik S. Geier, Max Kreisel, Andreas Andersen, Brian M. Superconductivity Strongly Correlated Electrons The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in the heavy-fermion material UTe$_2$ has reinvigorated research of spin-triplet superconductivity. We perform a theoretical study of coupled two-component spin-triplet superconducting order parameters and their thermodynamic transitions into the superconducting state. With focus on the behavior of the temperature dependence of the specific heat capacity, we find that two-component time-reversal symmetry breaking superconducting order may feature vanishing or even negative secondary specific heat anomalies. The origin of this unusual specific heat behavior is tied to the non-unitarity of the composite order parameter. Additionally, we supply an analysis of the topological surface states associated with the different possible spin-triplet orders: single-component orders host Dirac Majorana surface states in addition to possible bulk nodes. A second component breaking time-reversal symmetry gaps these surface states producing chiral Majorana hinge modes. DFT+$U$ band-structure calculations support that these topological phases are realized in UTe$_2$ when introducing weak superconducting pairing. Our topological analysis suggests measurable signatures for surface-probe experiments to acquire further evidence of the superconducting pairing symmetry. |
| title | Thermodynamic transitions and topology of spin-triplet superconductivity: Application to UTe$_2$ |
| topic | Superconductivity Strongly Correlated Electrons |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.06097 |