Microscopic origin of orbital magnetization in chiral superconductors

TL;DR

This paper develops a microscopic theory of orbital magnetization in chiral superconductors, unifying effects from normal-state coherence and Cooper pairs, and applies it to rhombohedral multilayer graphene.

Contribution

It introduces a unified microscopic framework for orbital magnetization in chiral superconductors, addressing longstanding conceptual challenges.

Findings

Superconductivity can enhance or suppress normal-state orbital magnetization.

Identification of a unique collective mode called the generalized clapping mode.

The theory provides a basis for experimental tests via magnetization measurements.

Abstract

Chiral superconductivity is a time-reversal-symmetry-breaking superconducting phase that has attracted broad interest as a potential platform for topological quantum computation. A fundamental consequence of this symmetry breaking is orbital magnetization, yet a clear microscopic formulation of this quantity has remained elusive. This difficulty arises because Bogoliubov quasiparticles do not carry a definite electric charge, precluding a simple interpretation of orbital magnetization in terms of circulating quasiparticle currents. Moreover, superconductivity and ferromagnetism rarely coexist, and in the few materials where they do (e.g. uranium-based compounds), strong spin-orbit coupling obscures the orbital contribution to the magnetization. The recent report of chiral superconductivity in rhombohedral multilayer graphene, which has negligible spin-orbit coupling, therefore provides a unique opportunity to develop and test a microscopic theory of orbital magnetization in chiral superconductors. Here we develop such a theory, unifying the interband coherence effects underlying normal-state orbital magnetization with the intrinsic orbital moments of the Cooper-pair condensate. Applying our theory to rhombohedral tetralayer graphene, we find that the onset of superconductivity can either enhance or suppress the normal-state orbital magnetization, depending on the bandstructure. We further identify a generalized clapping mode with a gap set by the sublattice winding form factor. This collective mode is unique to chiral superconductors and contributes to the orbital magnetization through its role in dressing the photon vertex. Our theory resolves a long-standing conceptual difficulty in defining orbital magnetization in superconducting systems, and measurements of the orbital magnetization relative to the quarter-metal phase would provide a direct experimental test.