Current inversion at the edges of a chiral p-wave superconductor

Abstract

Motivated by Sr2RuO4, edge quasiparticle states are analyzed based on the self-consistent solution of the Bogolyubov–de Gennes equations for a topological chiral p-wave superconductor. Using a tight-binding model of a square lattice for the dominant γ band, we explore the nontrivial geometry and band structure dependence of the edge states and currents. As a peculiar finding, we show that, for high band fillings, currents flow in a reversed direction when comparing straight and zigzag edges. We give a simple explanation in terms of the positions of the zero-energy bound states using a quasiclassical picture. We also show that a Ginzburg-Landau approach can reproduce these results. Moreover, the band filling dependence of the most stable domain wall structure is discussed.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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