Superconductivity in a Ferromagnetic Layered Compound

We examine superconductivity in layered systems with large Fermi-surface splitting due to coexisting ferromagnetic layers. In particular, the hybrid ruthenate-cuprate compound RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8 is examined on the coexistence of the superconductivity and the ferromagnetism, which has been observed recently. We calculate critical fields of the superconductivity taking into account the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state in a model with Fermi-surfaces which shapes are similar to those obtained by a band calculation. It is shown that the critical field is enhanced remarkably due to a Fermi-surface effect, and can be high enough to make the coexistence possible in a microscopic scale. We also clarify the direction of the spatial oscillation of the order parameter, which may be observed by scanning tunneling microscope experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, (Latex, revtex.sty, epsf.sty

Temperature dependence of the upper critical field of an anisotropic singlet superconductivity in a square lattice tight-binding model in parallel magnetic fields

Upper critical field parallel to the conducting layer is studied in anisotropic type-II superconductors on square lattices. We assume enough separation of the adjacent layers, for which the orbital pair-breaking effect is suppressed for exactly aligned parallel magnetic field. In particular, we examine the temperature dependence of the critical field H_c(T) of the superconductivity including the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO or LOFF) state, in which the Cooper pairs have non-zero center-of-mass momentum q. In the system with the cylindrically symmetric Fermi-surface, it is known that H_c(T) of the d-wave FFLO state exhibits a kink at a low temperature due to a change of the direction of q in contrast to observations in organic superconductors. It is shown that the kink disappears when the Fermi-surface is anisotropic to some extent, since the direction of q is locked in an optimum direction independent of the temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, revtex.sty, submitted to J.Phys.Soc.Jp

Antiferromagnetic superconductors with effective mass anisotropy in magnetic fields

We derive critical field H_c2 equations for antiferromagnetic \textit{s}-wave, d_{x^2-y^2}-wave, and d_{xy}-wave superconductors with effective mass anisotropy in three dimensions, where we take into account (i) the Jaccarino-Peter mechanism of magnetic-field-induced superconductivity (FISC) at high fields, (ii) an extended Jaccarino-Peter mechanism that reduces the Pauli paramagnetic pair-breaking effect at low fields where superconductivity and an antiferromagnetic long-range order with a canted spin structure coexist, and (iii) the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO or LOFF) state. As an example, experimental phase diagrams observed in organic superconductor kappa-(BETS)_2FeBr_4 are theoretically reproduced. In particular, the upper critical field of low-field superconductivity is well reproduced without any additional fitting parameter other than those determined from the critical field curves of the FISC at high fields. Therefore, the extended Jaccarino-Peter mechanism seems to occur actually in the present compound. It is predicted that the FFLO state does not occur in the FISC at high fields in contrast to the compound lambda-(BETS)_2FeCl_4, but it may occur in low-field superconductivity for s-wave and d_{x^2-y^2}-wave pairings. We also briefly discuss a possibility of compounds that exhibit unconventional behaviors of upper critical fields.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, revtex

On the Fulde-Ferrell State in Spatially Isotropic Superconductors

Effects of superconducting fluctuations on the Fulde-Ferrell (FF) state are discussed in a spatially isotropic three-dimensional superconductor under a magnetic field. For this system, Shimahara recently showed that within the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory, the long-range order of the FF state is suppressed by the phase fluctuation of the superconducting order parameter. [H. Shimahara: J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. {\bf 67} (1998) 1872, Physica B {\bf 259-261} (1999) 492] In this letter, we investigate this instability of the FF state against superconducting fluctuations from the microscopic viewpoint, employing the theory developed by Nozi\'eres and Schmitt-Rink in the BCS-BEC crossover field. Besides the absence of the second-order phase transition associated with the FF state, we show that even if the pairing interaction is weak, the shift of the chemical potential from the Fermi energy due to the fluctuations is crucial near the critical magnetic field of the FF state obtained within the mean-field theory.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Enhancement of the upper critical field and a field-induced superconductivity in antiferromagnetic conductors

We propose a mechanism by which the paramagnetic pair-breaking effect is largely reduced in superconductors with coexisting antiferromagnetic long- range and short-range orders. The mechanism is an extension of the Jaccarino and Peter mechanism to antiferromagnetic conductors, but the resultant phase diagram is quite different. In order to illustrate the mechanism, we examine a model which consists of mobile electrons and antiferromagnetically correlated localized spins with Kondo coupling between them. It is found that for weak Kondo coupling, the superconductivity occurs over an extraordinarily wide region of the magnetic field including zero field. The critical field exceeds the Chandrasekhar and Clogston limit, but there is no lower limit in contrast to the Jaccarino and Peter mechanism. On the other hand, for strong Kondo coupling, both the low-field superconductivity and a field-induced superconductivity occur. Possibilities in hybrid ruthenate cuprate superconductors and some organic superconductors are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, revtex.sty, to be published in J.Phys.Soc.Jpn. Vol.71, No.3 (2002

Reduction of Pauli paramagnetic pair-breaking effect in antiferromagnetic superconductors

Antiferromagnetic superconductors in a magnetic field are studied. We examine a mechanism which significantly reduces the Pauli paramagnetic pair-breaking effect. The mechanism is realized even in the presence of the orbital pair-breaking effect. We illustrate it using a three-dimensional model with an intercalated magnetic subsystem. The upper critical field is calculated for various parameters. It is shown that the upper critical field can reach several times the pure Pauli paramagnetic limit. The possible relevance to the large upper critical field observed in the heavy fermion antiferromagnetic superconductor CePt_3Si discovered recently is briefly discussed. We try to understand the large upper critical field in the compound CePt_3Si and field-induced superconductivity in the compound CePb_3 within a unified framework.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, revtex4, minor correction

Interplay of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov and Vortex states in two-dimensional Superconductors

Clean superconductors with weakly coupled conducting planes have been suggested as promising candidates for observing the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state. We consider here a layered superconductor in a magnetic field of arbitrary orientation with respect to the conducting plane. In this case there is competition of spin-pair-breaking and orbital-pair-breaking effects. In previous work, phase boundaries characterized by Landau quantum numbers n > 0 have been predicted. Here, we calculate the actual structure of the stable states below Hc2 by minimizing the free energy. We find several new order parameter structures differing from both the traditional Abrikosov and FFLO solutions. Some interesting unsolved questions appear in the limit of large n.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Spin-Triplet Superconductivity Mediated by Phonons in Quasi-One-Dimensional Systems

We investigate the spin-triplet superconductivity mediated by phonons in quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) systems with open Fermi surfaces. We obtain the ground state phase diagrams. It is found that spin-triplet superconductivity occurs for weak screening and strong on-site Coulomb interaction, even in the absence of any additional nonphonon pairing interactions. We find that the nodeless spin-triplet state is more favorable than the spin-triplet state with line nodes, for the parameter values of the Q1D superconductors (TMTSF)_2X. We also find that Q1D open Fermi surface, which is the specific feature of this system, plays an essential role in the pairing symmetry. We discuss the compatibility of the present results with the experimental results in these compounds.Comment: 8 pages, 15 figures, with jpsj2.cl

Josephson Effect in Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Superconductors

Due to the difference in the momenta of the superconducting order parameters, the Josephson current in a Josephson junction between a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconductor and a conventional BCS superconductor is suppressed. We show that the Josephson current may be recovered by applying a magnetic field in the junction. The field strength and direction at which the supercurrent recovery occurs depend upon the momentum and structure of the order parameter in the FFLO state. Thus the Josephson effect provides an unambiguous way to detect the existence of an FFLO state, and to measure the momentum of the order parameter.Comment: 4 pages with one embedded eps figur

Coexistence of Singlet and Triplet Attractive Channels in the Pairing Interactions Mediated by Antiferromagnetic Fluctuations

We propose a phase diagram of quasi-low-dimensional type II superconductors in parallel magnetic fields, when antiferromagnetic fluctuations contribute to the pairing interactions. We point out that pairing interactions mediated by antiferromagnetic fluctuations necessarily include both singlet channels and triplet channels as attractive interactions. Usually, a singlet pairing is favored at zero field, but a triplet pairing occurs at high fields where the singlet pairing is suppressed by the Pauli paramagnetic pair-breaking effect. As a result, the critical field increases divergently at low temperatures. A possible relation to experimental phase diagrams of a quasi-one-dimensional organic superconductor is briefly discussed. We also discuss a possibility that a triplet superconductivity is observed even at zero field.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure (Latex, revtex.sty, epsf.sty