Unsplit superconducting and time reversal symmetry breaking transitions in Sr2RuO4 under hydrostatic pressure and disorder

Vadim Grinenko (), Debarchan Das, Ritu Gupta, Bastian Zinkl, Naoki Kikugawa, Yoshiteru Maeno, Clifford W. Hicks, Hans-Henning Klauss, Manfred Sigrist () and Rustem Khasanov ()
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Vadim Grinenko: Technische Universität Dresden
Debarchan Das: Paul Scherrer Institut
Ritu Gupta: Paul Scherrer Institut
Bastian Zinkl: ETH Zurich
Naoki Kikugawa: National Institute for Materials Science
Yoshiteru Maeno: Kyoto University
Clifford W. Hicks: Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
Hans-Henning Klauss: Technische Universität Dresden
Manfred Sigrist: ETH Zurich
Rustem Khasanov: Paul Scherrer Institut

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract There is considerable evidence that the superconducting state of Sr2RuO4 breaks time reversal symmetry. In the experiments showing time reversal symmetry breaking, its onset temperature, TTRSB, is generally found to match the critical temperature, Tc, within resolution. In combination with evidence for even parity, this result has led to consideration of a dxz ± idyz order parameter. The degeneracy of the two components of this order parameter is protected by symmetry, yielding TTRSB = Tc, but it has a hard-to-explain horizontal line node at kz = 0. Therefore, s ± id and d ± ig order parameters are also under consideration. These avoid the horizontal line node, but require tuning to obtain TTRSB ≈ Tc. To obtain evidence distinguishing these two possible scenarios (of symmetry-protected versus accidental degeneracy), we employ zero-field muon spin rotation/relaxation to study pure Sr2RuO4 under hydrostatic pressure, and Sr1.98La0.02RuO4 at zero pressure. Both hydrostatic pressure and La substitution alter Tc without lifting the tetragonal lattice symmetry, so if the degeneracy is symmetry-protected, TTRSB should track changes in Tc, while if it is accidental, these transition temperatures should generally separate. We observe TTRSB to track Tc, supporting the hypothesis of dxz ± idyz order.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24176-8

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