DC-current induced domain wall in a chiral $p$-wave superconductor

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates how a DC current can induce domain walls in a mesoscopic chiral p-wave superconductor, revealing hysteresis and potential explanations for experimental anomalies in Sr2RuO4.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model showing current-induced domain wall formation and hysteresis in chiral p-wave superconductors, providing new insights into experimental observations.

Findings

DC current can trigger domain wall formation in chiral p-wave superconductors.

The system exhibits hysteretic behavior with multiple domain configurations.

Potential explanation for anomalous current variations in Sr2RuO4 junctions.

Abstract

We study theoretically the impact of an applied DC-current on a mesoscopic chiral $p$-wave superconductor. Performing quasiclassical calculations on a two-dimensional system, with an external magnetic flux to generate a DC current, we show that the current can trigger a transition to a state with a domain wall between regions of different chiralities. The system shows an hysteretic behavior, as different domain wall configurations are possible for a given current. This domain wall creation mechanism can give new insights on recent experiments observing anomalous current variations in Sr${}_2$RuO${}_4$ junctions.