Physics (Internal)

Odd-parity superconductors with two-component order parameters: nematic and chiral; gapped, Dirac and Weyl

This event is part of the Condensed Matter Theory Seminar Series.

Abstract: Motivated by recent experimental advances, indicating that superconductivity in doped topological insulator materials such as CuxBi2Se3 is characterized by a full odd-parity pairing gap with rotational symmetry breaking, in this talk I will a study of the general class of odd-parity superconductors with two- component order parameter. Through a microscopic weak-coupling analysis of a two-component Landau theory, the crucial role of spin-orbit coupling in stabilizing a new class of anisotropic or nematic superconductors is established. The quasiparticle gap structures reveal the origin of this effect, and show that odd-parity superconductors can fully gapped and topological or exhibit point nodes. The nodal gap structures are found to realize either Dirac or Weyl superconductors.