Controllable enhancement of $p$-wave superconductivity via magnetic coupling to a conventional superconductor

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors are of high interest due to their rich physics, a topical example being topological edge-states associated with $p$-wave superconductivity. A practical obstacle in studying such systems is the very low critical temperature $T_{\text{c}}$ that is required to realize a $p$-wave superconducting phase in a material. We predict that the $T_{\text{c}}$ of an intrinsic $p$-wave superconductor can be significantly enhanced by coupling it via an atomically thin ferromagnetic layer (F) to a conventional $s$-wave or a $d$-wave superconductor with a higher critical temperature. We show that this $T_{\text{c}}$-boost is tunable via the direction of the magnetization in F. Moreover, we show that the enhancement in $T_{\text{c}}$ can also be achieved using the Zeeman-effect of an external magnetic field. Our findings provide a way to increase $T_{\text{c}}$ in $p$-wave superconductors in a controllable way and make the exotic physics associated with such materials more easily accessible experimentally.

5 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Orientation-dependent Josephson effect in spin-singlet superconductor/altermagnet/spin-triplet superconductor junctions
• Generation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs via a canted antiferromagnet
• Proximity-induced collective modes in an unconventional superconductor heterostructure
• Hinge Majorana Flat Band in Type-II Dirac Semimetals
• Emergence of a condensate with finite-energy Cooper pairing in hybrid exciton/superconductor systems