Superconducting states in the tetrahedral compound PrOs4Sb12

TL;DR

This paper investigates possible superconducting states in PrOs4Sb12 with tetrahedral symmetry, analyzing gap structures, secondary order parameters, and strain coupling, and concludes that its superconductivity aligns with three-dimensional Th representations.

Contribution

It introduces a Landau theory framework to classify superconducting states in tetrahedral crystals with strong spin-orbit coupling, considering symmetry breaking and experimental comparisons.

Findings

Superconductivity in PrOs4Sb12 fits three-dimensional Th representations.

Identifies possible gap node structures for different states.

Discusses secondary order parameters and strain coupling effects.

Abstract

We find possible superconducting states for tetrahedral (Th) symmetry crystals with strong spin-orbit coupling using Landau theory. Additional symmetry breaking within the superconducting state is considered. We discuss nodes of the gap functions for the different states, secondary superconducting order parameters and coupling to the elastic strain. By comparing our results to experiments, we find that superconductivity in PrOs4Sb12 is best described by the three-dimensional representations of point group Th.