Exotic superconducting states in altermagnets

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Parshukov, Kirill, Schnyder, Andreas P.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Parshukov, Kirill
Schnyder, Andreas P.
author_facet Parshukov, Kirill
Schnyder, Andreas P.
contents The interplay between magnetism and superconductivity is one of the central topics of condensed matter physics, which has recently been put into new light by the discovery of altermagnets. Here, we study this interplay from a fundamental symmetry perspective using irreducible co-representations of the altermagnetic spin-point groups. We construct and tabulate all symmetry-allowed pairing functions for altermagnets, which uncovers numerous exotic pairing states. We focus on three of them, namely: (i) a non-unitary superconductor with different spatial anisotropies for the spin-up and spin-down condensates, (ii) a half-and-half metal-superconductor where only electrons with one of the two spin components form Cooper pairs, and (iii) a spin chiral superconductor with spin-polarized edge states. Interestingly, the first of these three superconductors exhibits an unusual fractional ac Josephson current for only one of the two spin polarizations. We present phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theories for these unconventional superconductors and show that they correspond to stable minima of the free energies. We examine their topological properties, study the effects of small spin-orbit coupling, consider possible material examples, and investigate their topological responses.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_10700
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Exotic superconducting states in altermagnets
Parshukov, Kirill
Schnyder, Andreas P.
Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
The interplay between magnetism and superconductivity is one of the central topics of condensed matter physics, which has recently been put into new light by the discovery of altermagnets. Here, we study this interplay from a fundamental symmetry perspective using irreducible co-representations of the altermagnetic spin-point groups. We construct and tabulate all symmetry-allowed pairing functions for altermagnets, which uncovers numerous exotic pairing states. We focus on three of them, namely: (i) a non-unitary superconductor with different spatial anisotropies for the spin-up and spin-down condensates, (ii) a half-and-half metal-superconductor where only electrons with one of the two spin components form Cooper pairs, and (iii) a spin chiral superconductor with spin-polarized edge states. Interestingly, the first of these three superconductors exhibits an unusual fractional ac Josephson current for only one of the two spin polarizations. We present phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theories for these unconventional superconductors and show that they correspond to stable minima of the free energies. We examine their topological properties, study the effects of small spin-orbit coupling, consider possible material examples, and investigate their topological responses.
title Exotic superconducting states in altermagnets
topic Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.10700