Phenomenological Approach to the Possible Existence of a Triplet Superconducting Phase in the Quasi-One-Dimensional Conductor Li$_{0.9}$Mo${_6}$O$_{17}$

TL;DR

This paper explores the possibility of a triplet superconducting phase in Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$, using a phenomenological approach to analyze how magnetic fields affect its superconductivity.

Contribution

It presents a theoretical analysis of the upper critical magnetic field in a quasi-one-dimensional superconductor, suggesting triplet pairing as a plausible explanation for experimental observations.

Findings

Orbital effects can suppress superconductivity at low temperatures depending on interplane distance.

Results support the hypothesis of triplet pairing in Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$.

Theoretical predictions align with recent experimental data.

Abstract

We consider a theoretical problem of the upper critical magnetic field parallel to a conducting axis of a quasi-one-dimensional layered superconductor. We show that the orbital effects against superconductivity in a magnetic field are capable of destroying the superconducting phase at low temperatures if the interplane distance is less than the corresponding coherence length. Applications of our results to the recent experiments, performed in the superconductor Li$_{0.9}$Mo$_6$O$_{17}$ [J.-F. Mercure et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 108}, 187003 (2012)], provide strong arguments in favor of a triplet superconducting pairing in this quasi-one-dimensional layered conductor.