Superfluid Transition in a Chiron Gas

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new quantum ground state in layered materials driven by spin-orbit interactions, leading to a crossover transition from free solitons to a paired condensate state at low temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for superfluid transition involving spin polarized solitons in layered materials influenced by spin-orbit interactions.

Findings

Identification of vortex-like and monopole-like solitons in 2D and 3D systems.

Discovery of a crossover transition between free and paired soliton states.

Implication of soliton pairing for superconductivity in layered materials.

Abstract

Low temperature measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of LSCO suggest that the superconducting transition is associated with the disappearance of a vortex liquid. In this note we wish to draw attention to the fact that spin-orbit-like interactions in a poorly conducting layered material can lead to a new type of quantum ground state with spin polarized soliton-like charge carriers as the important quantum degree of freedom. In 2-dimensions these solitons are vortex-like, while in 3-dimensional systems they are monopole-like. In either case there is a natural mechanism for the pairing of spin up and spin down solitons, and we find that at low temperatures there is a cross-over transition as a function of carrier density between a state where the solitons are free and a condensate state where the spin up and spin down solitons in neighboring layers are paired.