Generation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs via a canted antiferromagnet
Simran Chourasia, Lina Johnsen Kamra, I. V. Bobkova, Akashdeep Kamra
Abstract
Spinful triplet Cooper pairs can be generated from their singlet counterparts available in a conventional superconductor (S) using two or more noncollinear magnetic moments, typically contributed by different magnets in a multilayered heterostructure. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that a S interfaced with a canted antiferromagnet (AFM) harbors spinful triplet Cooper pairs capitalizing on the intrinsic noncollinearity between the two AFM sublattice magnetizations. As the AFM canting can be controlled by an applied field, our paper proposes a simple bilayer structure that admits controllable generation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs. Employing the Bogoliubov--de Gennes framework, we delineate the spatial dependence of the spin-triplet correlations. We further evaluate the superconducting critical temperature as a function of the AFM canting, which provides one experimental observable associated with the emergence of these triplet correlations.