We show that three-band superconductors with broken time reversal symmetry allow magnetic flux-carrying stable topological solitons. They can be induced by fluctuations or quenching the system through a phase transition. It can provide an experimental signature of the time reversal symmetry breakdown.
The recent discovery of iron pnictide superconductors has resulted in a rapidly growing interest in multiband models with more than two bands. In this work we specifically focus on the properties of three-band Ginzburg-Landau models which do not have direct counterparts in more studied two-band models. First we derive normal modes and characteristic length scales in the conventional U (1) three-band Ginzburg-Landau model as well as in its time reversal symmetry broken counterpart with U (1) × Z2 symmetry. We show that in the latter case, the normal modes are mixed phase/density collective excitations. A possibility of the appearance of a massless phase-difference mode associated with fluctuations of the phase difference is also discussed. Next we show that gradients of densities and phase differences can be inextricably intertwined in vortex excitations in three-band models. This can lead to very long-range attractive intervortex interactions and appearance of type-1.5 regimes even when the intercomponent Josephson coupling is large. In some cases it also results in the formation of a domain-like structures in the form of a ring of suppressed density around a vortex across which one of the phases shifts by π. We also show that field-induced vortices can lead to a change of broken symmetry from U (1) to U (1) × Z2 in the system. In the type-1.5 regime, it results in a semi-Meissner state where the system has a macroscopic phase separation in domains with broken U (1) and U (1) × Z2 symmetries.Superconductivity with two gaps associated with different bands was first theoretically predicted in 1959 1 . However it was not until 42 years later, with the discovery of M gB 2 2
It is shown that under certain conditions, three-component superconductors (and in particular three-band systems) allow stable topological defects different from vortices. We demonstrate the existence of these excitations, characterized by a CP 2 topological invariant, in models for threecomponent superconductors with broken time reversal symmetry. We term these topological defects "chiral GL (3) skyrmions", where "chiral" refers to the fact that due to broken time reversal symmetry, these defects come in inequivalent left-and right-handed versions. In certain cases these objects are energetically cheaper than vortices and should be induced by an applied magnetic field. In other situations these skyrmions are metastable states, which can be produced by a quench. Observation of these defects can signal broken time reversal symmetry in three-band superconductors or in Josephson-coupled bilayers of s± and s-wave superconductors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.