Skyrmionic state and stable half-quantum vortices in chiral p-wave superconductors

Abstract

Observability of half-quantum vortices and skyrmions in p-wave superconductors is an outstanding open question. Under the most common conditions, fractional flux vortices are not thermodynamically stable in bulk samples. Here we show that in chiral p-wave superconductors, there is a regime where, in contrast lattices of integer flux vortices are not thermodynamically stable. Instead skyrmions made of spatially separated half-quantum vortices are the topological defects produced by an applied external field.

Replaced with a version in print in Physical Review B, Rapid Communications; References added; 8 pages, 9 figures

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Cited by in corpus (34)

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• Properties of skyrmions and multi-quanta vortices in chiral $p$-wave superconductors
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• Fractional instantons and bions in the O(N) model with twisted boundary conditions
• Vortical versus skyrmionic states in mesoscopic \emph{p}-wave superconductors
• Magnus-Induced Dynamics of Driven Skyrmions on a Quasi-One-Dimensional Periodic Substrate
• Electronic properties of emergent topological defects in chiral $p$-wave superconductivity
• Skyrmions induced by dissipationless drag in U(1)xU(1) superconductors
• Baryonic torii: Toroidal baryons in a generalized Skyrme model
• Topological phase transitions in small mesoscopic chiral p-wave superconductors
• Josephson junction of non-Abelian superconductors and non-Abelian Josephson vortices
• Spontaneous creation and annihilation dynamics and strain-limited stability of magnetic skyrmions
• Josephson instantons and Josephson monopoles in a non-Abelian Josephson junction
• Lattices of double-quanta vortices and chirality inversion in $p_x+i{p}_y$ superconductors
• Effective field theories on solitons of generic shapes
• Instantons confined by monopole strings
• Fractional Skyrmion molecules in a $\mathbb{C}{P}^{N-1}$ model
• Coreless vortices as direct signature of chiral $d$-wave superconductivity
• D-brane solitons in various dimensions
• Non-Abelian Half-Quantum Vortices in ${}^3{P}_2$ Topological Superfluids
• Chiral non-Abelian vortices and their confinement in three flavor dense QCD
• Phase diagram of superconductivity in the integer quantum Hall regime
• Robust and tunable coreless vortices and fractional vortices in chiral $d$-wave superconductors
• Core structures of vortices in Ginzburg-Landau theory for neutron ${}^3{P}_2$ superfluids
• Proximity effects of vortices in neutron ${}^3{P}_2$ superfluids in neutron stars: Vortex core transitions and covalent bonding of vortex molecules
• First order superconducting phase transition in chiral $p+ip$ system
• Orbital moiré and quadrupolar triple-q physics in a triangular lattice
• Anomalous in-gap edge states in two-dimensional pseudospin-1 Dirac insulators
• Laser pulse probe of chirality of Cooper pairs
• Thermal fluctuations and vortex lattice structures in chiral $p$-wave superconductors: robustness of double-quanta vortices
• Chiral non-Abelian vortex molecules in dense QCD
• Chiral non-Abelian domain walls in the Ginzburg-Landau theory