Interplay between the extended s-wave symmetry of the gap and the spin-orbit coupling in the low-electron concentration regime of quasi-two-dimensional superconductors

TL;DR

This paper investigates how extended s-wave pairing interacts with spin-orbit coupling and magnetic fields in low-electron-density quasi-2D superconductors, revealing enhanced superconductivity and complex pairing states.

Contribution

It demonstrates the role of Rashba spin-orbit coupling and magnetic fields in promoting extended s-wave pairing and helical states, with implications for unconventional superconductivity.

Findings

Spin-orbit coupling enhances the superconducting gap and critical temperature.

The helical state features non-zero Cooper pair momentum due to combined effects.

Small d-wave and p-wave components emerge, altering the pairing symmetry.

Abstract

We analyze the real-space paired state with the $\mathbf{k}$-dependent superconducting gap in the presence of Rashba type spin-orbit coupling and external magnetic field. We show that the $extended$ $s$-$wave$ pairing symmetry is the most probable scenario to appear in the low-electron concentration regime. According to our study, the van Hove singularity induced by the spin-orbit coupling may lead to a significant enhancement of the superconducting gap, critical temperature and critical magnetic field. Moreover, the combined effect of the spin-orbit coupling and the external magnetic field results in a non-zero total momentum of the Cooper pairs, which is a characteristic feature of the so-called helical state. In such situation, due to the C$_4$ symmetry breaking, a small $d$-$wave$ and $p$-$wave$ contributions to the pairing appear, which significantly change the character of the helical state. The obtained results are discussed in the context of the experimental data related with the unconventional superconducting features of the transition metal oxide interfaces as well as the recently reported supercurrent diode effect.