Fractional flux quanta at intrinsic metallic interfaces of noncentrosymmetric superconductors

Iniotakis, C.; Fujimoto, S.; Sigrist, M.

Fractional flux quanta at intrinsic metallic interfaces of noncentrosymmetric superconductors

Authors

Iniotakis, C.

Fujimoto, S.

Sigrist, M.

Description

We examine intrinsic interfaces separating crystalline twin domains of opposite spin-orbit coupling in a noncentrosymmetric superconductor such as CePt3Si. At these interfaces, low-energy Andreev bound states occur as a consequence of parity-mixed Cooper pairing, and a superconducting phase which violates time reversal symmetry can be realized. This provides an environment allowing flux lines with fractional flux quanta to be formed at the interface. Their presence could have strong implications on the flux creep behavior in such superconductors.
4 pages, 3 figures