Nonuniform mixed-parity superfluid state in Fermi gases

We study the effects of dipole interaction on the superfluidity in a homogeneous Fermi gas with population imbalance. We show that the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase is replaced by another nonuniform superfluid phase, in which the order parameter has a nonzero triplet component induced by the dipole interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Recent developments in unconventional superconductivity theory

The review of recent developments in the unconventional superconductivity theory is given. In the fist part I consider the physical origin of the Kerr rotation polarization of light reflected from the surface of superconducting $Sr_2RuO_4$. Then the comparison of magneto-optical responses in superconductors with orbital and spin spontaneous magnetization is presented. The latter result is applied to the estimation of the magneto-optical properties of neutral superfluids with spontaneous magnetization. The second part is devoted to the natural optical activity or gyrotropy properties of noncentrosymmetric metals in their normal and superconducting states. The temperature behavior of the gyrotropy coefficient is compared with the temperature behavior of paramagnetic susceptibility determining the noticeable increase of the paramagnetic limiting field in noncentrosymmetric superconductors. In the last chapter I describe the order parameter and the symmetry of superconducting state in the itinerant ferromagnet with orthorhombic symmetry. Finally the Josephson coupling between two adjacent ferromagnet superconducting domains is discussed.Comment: 15 page

FFLO state in thin superconducting films

We present the analysis of the inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconducting state in thin superconducting films in the parallel magnetic field. For the tetragonal crystal symmetry (relevant to CeCoIn$_{5}$ - the most probable candidate for the FFLO state formation) we predict a very peculiar in-plane angular dependence of the FFLO critical field due to the orbital effect. In the uniform superconducting state the critical field should be isotropic. The magnetic field pins also the direction of the FFLO modulation permitting thus to study the critical current anisotropy. Our calculations reveal a strong critical current anisotropy in the FFLO state in sharp contrast with the usual superconducting state. The predicted characteristic anisotropies of the critical field and critical current may provide an unambiguous probe of the FFLO phase formation.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Europhys. Let

Interplay of paramagnetic, orbital and impurity effects on the phase transition of a normal metal to superconducting state

We derive the generalized Ginzburg-Landau free energy functional for conventional and unconventional singlet superconductors in the presence of paramagnetic, orbital and impurity effects. Within the mean field theory, we determine the criterion for appearence of the non uniform (Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov) superconducting state, with vortex lattice structure and additional modulation along the magnetic field. We also discuss the possible change of the order of transition from normal to superconducting state. We find that the superconducting phase diagram is very sensitive to geometrical effects such as the nature of the order parameter and the shape of the Fermi surface. In particular, we obtain the qualitative phase diagrams for three-dimensional isotropic s-wave superconductors and in quasi two-dimensional d-wave superconductors under magnetic field perpendicular to the conducting layers. In addition, we determine the criterion for instability toward non uniform superconducting state in s-wave superconductors in the dirty limit.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Reply to "Comment on "Domain Structure in a Superconducting Ferromagnet""

This short article is a reply to the comment from E.B. Sonin on our paper on the domain structure in a superconducting ferromagnet published in Phys. Rev. Lett..Comment: 1 page, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Odd spin-triplet superconductivity in a multilayered superconductor-ferromagnet Josephson junction

We study the dc Josephson effect in a diffusive multilayered SF'FF'S structure, where S is a superconductor and F,F' are different ferromagnets. We assume that the exchange energies in the F' and F layers are different ($$ and $H$, respectively) and the middle F layer consists of two layers with parallel or antiparallel magnetization vectors $M$. The $M$ vectors in the left and right F' layers are generally not collinear to those in the F layer. In the limit of a weak proximity effect we use a linearized Usadel equation. Solving this equation, we calculate the Josephson critical current for arbitrary temperatures, arbitrary thicknesses of the F' and F layers ($$ and $L_{H}$) in the case of parallel and antiparallel $M$ orientations in the F layer. The part of the critical current $I_{cSR}$ formed by the short-range (SRC) singlet and S=0 triplet condensate components decays on a short length $\xi_{H}=\sqrt{D/H}$, whereas the part $$ due to the long-range triplet $|S|=1$ component (LRTC) decreases with increasing $L_{H}$ on the length $\xi_{N}=\sqrt{D/\pi T}$. Our results are in agreement with the experiment \cite{Birge}.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; some references updated and adde

Electrodynamics of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconducting state

We develop the Ginzburg-Landau theory of the vortex lattice in clean isotropic three-dimensional superconductors at large Maki parameter, when inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state is favored. We show that diamagnetic superfluid currents mainly come from paramagnetic interaction of electron spins with local magnetic field, and not from kinetic energy response to the external field as usual. We find that the stable vortex lattice keeps its triangular structure as in usual Abrikosov mixed state, while the internal magnetic field acquires components perpendicular to applied magnetic field. Experimental possibilities related to this prediction are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Charged-Surface Instability Development in Liquid Helium; Exact Solutions

The nonlinear dynamics of charged-surface instability development was investigated for liquid helium far above the critical point. It is found that, if the surface charge completely screens the field above the surface, the equations of three-dimensional (3D) potential motion of a fluid are reduced to the well-known equations describing the 3D Laplacian growth process. The integrability of these equations in 2D geometry allows the analytic description of the free-surface evolution up to the formation of cuspidal singularities at the surface.Comment: latex, 5 pages, no figure

Odd triplet superconductivity in a superconductor/ferromagnet structure with a spiral magnetic structure

We analyze a superconductor-ferromagnet (S/F) system with a spiral magnetic structure in the ferromagnet F for a weak and strong exchange field. The long-range triplet component (LRTC) penetrating into the ferromagnet over a long distance is calculated for both cases. In the dirty limit (or weak ferromagnetism) we study the LRTC for conical ferromagnets. Its spatial dependence undergoes a qualitative change as a function of the cone angle \theta. At small angles the LRTC decays in the ferromagnet exponentially in a monotonic way. If the angle \theta exceeds a certain value, the exponential decay of the LRTC is accompanied by oscillations with a period that depends on \theta. This oscillatory behaviour leads to a similar dependence of the Josephson critical current in SFS junctions on the thickness of the F layer. In the case of a strong ferromagnet the LRTC decays over the length which is determined by the wave vector of the magnetic spiral and by the exchange field.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. B 73 (10) (2006

On the spin susceptibility of noncentrosymmetric superconductors

We calculate the spin susceptibility of a superconductor without inversion symmetry, both in the clean and disordered cases. The susceptibility has a large residual value at zero temperature, which is further enhanced in the presence of scalar impurities.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure