P-wave Pairing in superconducting Sr2RuO4

TL;DR

This paper investigates two theoretical models for the superconducting state of Sr2RuO4, analyzing their ability to reproduce experimental data and their implications for the nature of pairing mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces and compares an orbital model and an orbital proximity model for Sr2RuO4's superconductivity, highlighting their differences in transition behavior and experimental consistency.

Findings

The orbital model predicts two superconducting transitions without fine-tuning.

The orbital proximity model shows a single transition but mismatches specific heat data.

Both models require parameter adjustments to align with experimental observations.

Abstract

Two models for the superconducting state of Sr2RuO4 have been analyzed. In an "orbital model" the in-plane and out of-plane interactions between electrons on neighboring Ru atoms are assumed to be attractive. In spite of the single particle hybrisation of the orbitals the model shows two superconducting transitions and fine-tuning of parameters is necessary to get a single transition. Otherwise the model correctly describes a number of experimental data. The "orbital proximity model" introduced here assumes the existence of special kind of inter-orbital interaction, which mixes the symmetries of the order parameters. This model naturally shows single temperature transition, but as our calculations indicate, does not lead to correct dependence of the electronic specific heat.