A unified theoretical framework for Kondo superconductors: Periodic Anderson impurities with attractive pairing and Rashba spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified theoretical framework using a periodic Anderson model to understand the interplay of Kondo effect, superconductivity, and spin-orbit coupling in magnetic superconductors, explaining experimental phenomena in materials like NbSe2, UTe2, and URhGe.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model incorporating Kondo interactions, pairing symmetries, and spin-orbit coupling to explain complex behaviors in Kondo superconductors.

Findings

Kondo resistive region emerges below Tc at high doping.

Magnetic field suppresses singlet but stabilizes triplet superconductivity.

Spin-orbit coupling suppresses triplet pairing.

Abstract

Magnetic superconductors manifest a fascinating interplay between their magnetic and superconducting properties. This becomes evident, for example, in the significant enhancement of the upper critical field observed in uranium-based superconductors, or the destruction of superconductivity well below the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ in cobalt-doped NbSe$_2$. In this work, we argue that the Kondo interaction plays a pivotal role in governing these behaviors. By employing a periodic Anderson model, we study the Kondo effect in superconductors with either singlet or triplet pairing. In the regime of small impurity energies and high doping concentrations, we find the emergence of a Kondo resistive region below $T_c$. While a magnetic field suppresses singlet superconductivity, it stabilizes triplet pairing through the screening of magnetic impurities, inducing reentrant superconductivity at high fields. Moreover, introducing an antisymmetric spin-orbital coupling suppresses triplet superconductivity. This framework provides a unified picture to understand the observation of Kondo effect in NbSe$_2$ as well as the phase diagrams in Kondo superconductors such as UTe$_2$, and URhGe.