Robustness of odd-parity superconductivity with spin-orbit locking against disorder

TL;DR

This paper shows that odd-parity superconductivity with spin-orbit locking can be robust against disorder due to an emergent chiral symmetry, challenging the traditional view that unconventional superconductors require ultraclean conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism by which spin-orbit locking suppresses impurity effects, enabling stable odd-parity superconductivity despite disorder.

Findings

Disorder effects are suppressed in odd-parity superconductors with spin-orbit locking.

Emergent chiral symmetry plays a key role in protecting superconductivity.

Robustness against disorder broadens the potential for realizing unconventional superconductors.

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors host a plethora of interesting physical phenomena. However, the standard theory of superconductivity suggests that unconventional pairing is highly sensitive to disorder, and hence can only be observed in ultraclean systems. We find that due to an emergent chiral symmetry, spin-orbital locking can parametrically suppress pair decoherence introduced by impurity scattering in odd-parity superconductors. Our work demonstrates that disorder is not an obstacle to realize odd-parity superconductivity in materials with strong spin-orbit coupling.