Constraints on a split superconducting transition under uniaxial strain in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mi>Sr</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:msub><mml:mi>RuO</mml:mi><mml:mn>4</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math> from scanning SQUID microscopy
Eli Mueller, Yusuke Iguchi, C. A. Watson, Clifford W. Hicks, Y. Maeno, Kathryn A. Moler
Abstract
Strontium ruthenate continues to draw considerable scientific interest as an unconventional superconductor. One open question is whether the superconducting order parameter has a single component or two degenerate components. Here, the authors use scanning SQUID microscopy to test for a second superconducting transition in the superfluid density under application of symmetry breaking strain, a key prediction for a system with a two-component order parameter. The reported non-observation of a second superconducting transition constrains future models of unconventional superconductivity in this fascinating material.
Topics & Concepts
SuperconductivityCondensed matter physicsDegenerate energy levelsComponent (thermodynamics)PhysicsSuperfluidityOrder (exchange)Quantum mechanicsFinanceEconomicsAdvanced Condensed Matter PhysicsPhysics of Superconductivity and MagnetismMagnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials