English

Skyrmionic chains and lattices in $s+id$ superconductors

Superconductivity 2020-02-13 v1

Abstract

We report characteristic vortex configurations in s+ids+id superconductors with time reversal symmetry breaking, exposed to magnetic field. A vortex in the s+ids+id state tends to have an opposite phase winding between ss- and dd-wave condensates. We find that this peculiar feature together with the competition between ss- and dd-wave symmetry results in three distinct classes of vortical configurations. When either ss- or dd- condensate absolutely dominates, vortices form a conventional lattice. However, when one condensate is relatively dominant, vortices organize in chains that exhibit skyrmionic character, separating the chiral components of the s±ids \pm id order parameter into domains within and outside the chain. Such skyrmionic chains are found stable even at high magnetic field. When ss- and dd- condensates have a comparable strength, vortices split cores in two chiral components to form full-fledged skyrmions, i.e. coreless topological structures with an integer topological charge, organized in a lattice. We provide characteristic magnetic field distributions of all states, enabling their identification in e.g. scanning Hall probe and scanning SQUID experiments. These unique vortex states are relevant for high-Tc_c cuprate and iron-based superconductors, where the relative strength of competing pairing symmetries is expected to be tuned by temperature and/or doping level, and can help distinguish s+iss+is and s+ids+id superconducting phases.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2002.04884,
  title  = {Skyrmionic chains and lattices in $s+id$ superconductors},
  author = {Ling-Feng Zhang and Yan-Yan Zhang and Guo-Qiao Zha and M. V. Milošević and Shi-Ping Zhou},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2002.04884},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

13 pages, 7 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-23T13:39:21.417Z