Collective modes, AC response and magnetic properties of the 3D Dirac semi-metal in the triplet superconducting state

TL;DR

This paper investigates the collective excitations, electromagnetic response, and magnetic properties of a triplet superconducting state in 3D Dirac semi-metals, revealing unique modes and anisotropic behaviors.

Contribution

It derives the Ginzburg-Landau equations for the vector order parameter and analyzes the collective modes, optical, and magnetic properties specific to triplet superconductivity in 3D Dirac semi-metals.

Findings

Identification of gapless Goldstone and gapped Higgs modes.

Prediction of high dissipation due to Goldstone modes.

Demonstration of anisotropic AC conductivity and magnetic field effects.

Abstract

It was recently shown that conventional phonon-electron interactions may induce a triplet pairing state in time-reversal invariant 3D Dirac semi - metals. Starting from the microscopic model of the isotropic Dirac semi-metal, the Ginzburg-Landau equations for the vector order parameter is derived using the Gor'kov technique. The collective modes including gapless Goldstone modes, and gapped Higgs modes of various polarizations are identified. They are somewhat analogous to the modes in the B phase of He3, although in the present case quantitatively there is a pronouneced difference between longitudinal and transverse components. The difference is caused by the vector nature of the order parameter leading to two different coherence lengths or penetration depths. The system is predicted to be highly dissipative due to the Goldstone modes. The time dependent Ginzburg - Landau model in the presence of external fields is used to investigate some optical and magnetic properties of such superconductors. The AC conductivity of a clean sample depends on the orientation of the order parameter. It is demonstrated that the difference between the penetration depths results in rotation of the polarization vector of microwave passing a slab made of this material. The upper critical magnetic field H_{c2} was found. It turns out that at fields close to H_{c2} the order parameter orients itself perpendicular to the field direction. In certain range of parameters the triplet superconducting phase persists at arbitrarily high magnetic field like in some p wave superconductors.