Spatial Line Nodes and Fractional Vortex Pairs in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Vortex State of Spin-Singlet Superconductors

D. F. Agterberg; Z. Zheng; S. Mukherjee

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.017001

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Spatial Line Nodes and Fractional Vortex Pairs in the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Vortex State of Spin-Singlet Superconductors

D. F. Agterberg, Z. Zheng, S. Mukherjee

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.017001 · Physical Review Letters

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Abstract

A Zeeman magnetic field can induce a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase in spin-singlet superconductors. Here we argue that there is a nontrivial solution for the FFLO vortex phase that exists near the upper critical field in which the wave function has only spatial line nodes that form intricate and unusual three-dimensional structures. These structures include a crisscrossing lattice of two sets of nonparallel line nodes. We show that these solutions arise from the decay of conventional Abrikosov vortices into pairs of fractional vortices. We propose that neutron scattering studies can observe these fractional vortex pairs through the observation of a lattice of 1/2 flux quanta vortices. We also consider related phases in noncentrosymmetric superconductors.

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Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
CeCoIn5 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown
Li2Pt3B Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	—	Pressure not reported	unknown