Nematic single-component superconductivity and loop-current order from pair-density wave instability

Abstract

We investigate the nematic and loop-current type orders that may arise as vestigial precursor phases in a model with an underlying pair-density wave (PDW) instability. We discuss how such a vestigial phase gives rise to a highly anisotropic stiffness for a coexisting single-component superconductor with low intrinsic stiffness, as is the case for the underdoped cuprate superconductors. Next, focusing on a regime with a mean-field PDW ground state with loop-current and nematic $xy$ (B${}_{2g}$) order, we find a preemptive transition into a low and high-temperature vestigial phase with loop-current and nematic order corresponding to $xy$ (B${}_{2g}$) and $x^2-y^2$ (B${}_{1g}$) symmetry respectively. Near the transition between the two phases, a state of soft nematic order emerges for which we expect that the nematic director is readily pinned away from the high-symmetry directions in the presence of an external field. Results are discussed in relation to findings in the cuprates, especially to the recently inferred highly anisotropic superconducting fluctuations [Wårdh {\em et al.}, ``Colossal transverse magnetoresistance due to nematic superconducting phase fluctuations in a copper oxide'', arXiv:2203.06769], giving additional evidence for an underlying ubiquitous PDW instability in these materials.

19 pages, 9 figures, and 2 tables

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Microscopic mechanism for fluctuating pair density wave
• Exact solution for finite center-of-mass momentum Cooper pairing
• Colossal transverse magnetoresistance due to nematic superconducting phase fluctuations in a copper oxide