Intrinsically s-wave like property of triplet superconductors with spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This paper reveals that certain triplet superconductors with spin-orbit coupling exhibit properties similar to s-wave superconductors, demonstrated through theoretical analysis and tunneling conductance calculations.

Contribution

It uncovers an intrinsic s-wave like property of triplet superconductors with spin-orbit coupling and analyzes its effects on tunneling spectra in junctions.

Findings

Triplet pairing eigenfunctions can coincide with s-wave pairing under specific conditions.

Rashba spin-orbit coupling induces a peak at the energy gap in tunneling spectra.

The results suggest a universal s-wave like feature in certain triplet superconductors with spin-orbit coupling.

Abstract

We have studied a general property of unconventional superconductors with spin-orbit coupling by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and found that the two of four eigenfunctions for triplet pairing coincide with those for s-wave pairing when a relation holds between pairing symmetry and spin-orbit coupling, indicative of an intrinsically s-wave like property of triplet superconductors. Applying the result, we have studied the tunneling conductance in normal metal / insulator / unconventional superconductor junctions with a candidate of pairing symmetry of CePt$_3$Si. The effect of Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) is taken into account. We have found that the RSOC induces a peak at the energy gap like s-wave superconductors in the tunneling spectrum.