English

Josephson effect in a multi-orbital model for Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$

Superconductivity 2017-05-31 v2 Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

Abstract

We study Josephson current between s-wave/spin-triplet superconductor junctions by taking into account details of band structures in Sr2_{2}RuO4_{4} such as three conduction bands, spin-orbit interaction in the bulk and that at the interface. We assume five superconducting order parameters in Sr2_{2}RuO4_{4}: a chiral p-wave symmetry and four helical p-wave symmetries. We calculate current-phase relationship I(φ)I(\varphi) in these junctions, where φ\varphi is the macroscopic phase difference between two superconductors. The results for a chiral p-wave pairing symmetry show that cos(φ)\cos(\varphi) term appears in the current-phase relation due to time-reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking. On the other hand, cos(φ)\cos(\varphi) term is absent in the helical pairing states which preserve the TRS. We also study the dependence of maximum Josephson current IcI_c on an external magnetic flux Φ\Phi in a corner junction. The calculated results of Ic(Φ)I_c(\Phi) show a relation Ic(Φ)Ic(Φ)I_{c}(\Phi) \neq I_{c}(-\Phi) in a chiral state and Ic(Φ)=Ic(Φ)I_{c}(\Phi)=I_{c}(-\Phi) in a helical state. We calculate Ic(Φ)I_c(\Phi) in a corner and a symmetric SQUIDs geometry. In a symmetric SQUID geometry, the relation Ic(Φ)=Ic(Φ)I_{c}(\Phi)=I_{c}(-\Phi) is satisfied for all the pairing states and it is impossible to distinguish chiral state from helical one. On the other hand, results for a corner SQUID always show Ic(Φ)Ic(Φ)I_{c}(\Phi) \neq I_{c}(-\Phi) and Ic(Φ)=Ic(Φ)I_{c}(\Phi)=I_{c}(-\Phi) for a chiral and a helical states, respectively. Experimental tests of these relations in a corner junctions and SQUIDs may serve as a tool for unambiguous determination of the pairing symmetry in Sr2_{2}RuO4_{4}.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1702.01918,
  title  = {Josephson effect in a multi-orbital model for Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$},
  author = {Kohei Kawai and Keiji Yada and Yukio Tanaka and Yasuhiro Asano and A. A. Golubov and Satoshi Kashiwaya},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1702.01918},
  year   = {2017}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T18:11:17.153Z