Emergent superconducting phases in unconventional $p$-wave magnets: Topological superconductivity, Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces and superconducting diode effect

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores unconventional $p$-wave magnets as a platform for various exotic superconducting phases, including topological superconductivity, Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces, and the superconducting diode effect, revealing rich phase diagrams and novel phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a microscopic model showing $p$-wave magnets can host topological superconductivity, gapless phases, and non-reciprocal effects without requiring spin-orbit coupling.

Findings

Discovery of topological superconductivity with Majorana modes in $p$-wave magnets.

Identification of Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces in gapless superconducting phases.

Demonstration of superconducting diode effect in asymmetric Fulde-Ferrell phases.

Abstract

The recent discovery of unconventional momentum-dependent magnetic orders has expanded the landscape of magnetism beyond conventional ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. Among them, $p$-wave magnets ($p$WMs) represent a novel class of odd-parity, non-collinear compensated magnetic order that generates spin-split electronic bands. In this work, our theoretical investigation establishes $p$WMs as a versatile platform for realizing intriguing superconducting phases including topological superconductivity (TSC), Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces (BFSs), and superconducting diode effect (SDE), within a unified microscopic framework. Employing a minimal model incorporating $p$-wave magnetic order, exchange coupling, and Zeeman fields, we perform a self-consistent mean-field analysis and uncover a rich phase diagram featuring unconventional finite-momentum Fulde-Ferrell (FF) and Larkin-Ovchinnikov (LO) superconducting phases. Remarkably, we also show that $p$WMs can undergo a transition to a TSC phase anchoring Majorana flat edge modes, a hallmark of two-dimensional TSCs, even without Rashba spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman field. Upon applying a Zeeman field, gapless FF and LO phases emerge with BFSs characterized by the appearance of finite zero-energy quasiparticle density of states. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SDE arises naturally in the asymmetric FF phase. Our analysis manifests that $p$WMs serve as a unique and novel platform to host TSC phase, gapless superconducting states, and non-reciprocal transport phenomena.