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Register a new userHidden charge-conjugation, parity, and time-reversal symmetries and massive Goldstone (Higgs) modes in superconductors
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A massive Goldstone (MG) mode, often referred to as a Higgs amplitude mode, is a collective excitation that arises in a system involving spontaneous breaking of a continuous symmetry, along with a gapless Nambu-Goldstone mode. It has been known in the previous studies that a pure amplitude MG mode emerges in superconductors if the dispersion of fermions exhibits the particle-hole (p-h) symmetry. However, clear understanding of the relation between the symmetry of the Hamiltonian and the MG modes has not been reached. Here we reveal the fundamental connection between the discrete symmetry of the Hamiltonian and the emergence of pure amplitude MG modes. To this end, we introduce nontrivial charge-conjugation ($mathcal C$), parity ($mathcal P$), and time-reversal ($mathcal T$) operations that involve the swapping of pairs of wave vectors symmetrical with respect to the Fermi surface. The product of $mathcal{CPT}$ (or its permutations) represents an exact symmetry analogous to the CPT theorem in the relativistic field theory. It is shown that a fermionic Hamiltonian with a p-h symmetric dispersion exhibits the discrete symmetries under $mathcal C$, $mathcal P$, $mathcal T$, and $mathcal{CPT}$. We find that in the superconducting ground state, $mathcal T$ and $mathcal P$ are spontaneously broken simultaneously with the U(1) symmetry. Moreover, we rigorously show that amplitude and phase fluctuations of the gap function are uncoupled due to the unbroken $mathcal C$. In the normal phase, the MG and NG modes become degenerate, and they have opposite parity under $mathcal T$. Therefore, we conclude that the lifting of the degeneracy in the superconducting phase and the resulting emergence of the pure amplitude MG mode can be identified as a consequence of the the spontaneous breaking of $mathcal T$ symmetry but not of $mathcal P$ or U(1).
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The order parameter and its variations in space and time in many different states in condensed matter physics at low temperatures are described by the complex function $Psi({bf r}, t)$. These states include superfluids, superconductors, and a subclass of antiferromagnets and charge-density waves. The collective fluctuations in the ordered state may then be categorized as oscillations of phase and amplitude of $Psi({bf r}, t)$. The phase oscillations are the {it Goldstone} modes of the broken continuous symmetry. The amplitude modes, even at long wavelengths, are well defined and decoupled from the phase oscillations only near particle-hole symmetry, where the equations of motion have an effective Lorentz symmetry as in particle physics, and if there are no significant avenues for decay into other excitations. They bear close correspondence with the so-called {it Higgs} modes in particle physics, whose prediction and discovery is very important for the standard model of particle physics. In this review, we discuss the theory and the possible observation of the amplitude or Higgs modes in condensed matter physics -- in superconductors, cold-atoms in periodic lattices, and in uniaxial antiferromagnets. We discuss the necessity for at least approximate particle-hole symmetry as well as the special conditions required to couple to such modes because, being scalars, they do not couple linearly to the usual condensed matter probes.
Topological crystalline superconductors have attracted rapidly rising attention due to the possibility of higher-order phases, which support Majorana modes on boundaries in $d-2$ or lower dimensions. However, although the classification and bulk topological invariants in such systems have been well studied, it is generally difficult to faithfully predict the boundary Majoranas from the band-structure information due to the lack of well-established bulk-boundary correspondence. Here we propose a protocol for deriving symmetry indicators that depend on a minimal set of necessary symmetry data of the bulk bands and can diagnose boundary features. Specifically, to obtain indicators manifesting clear bulk-boundary correspondence, we combine the topological crystal classification scheme in the real space and a twisted equivariant K group analysis in the momentum space. The key step is to disentangle the generally mixed strong and weak indicators through a systematic basis-matching procedure between our real-space and momentum-space approaches. We demonstrate our protocol using an example of two-dimensional time-reversal odd-parity superconductors, where the inversion symmetry is known to protect a higher-order phase with corner Majoranas. Symmetry indicators derived from our protocol can be readily applied to ab initio database and could fuel material predictions for strong and weak topological crystalline superconductors with various boundary features.
To trace the origin of time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB) in Re-based superconductors, we performed comparative muon-spin rotation/relaxation ($mu$SR) studies of superconducting noncentrosymmetric Re$_{0.82}$Nb$_{0.18}$ ($T_c = 8.8$ K) and centrosymmetric Re ($T_c = 2.7$ K). In Re$_{0.82}$Nb$_{0.18}$, the low temperature superfluid density and the electronic specific heat evidence a fully-gapped superconducting state, whose enhanced gap magnitude and specific-heat discontinuity suggest a moderately strong electron-phonon coupling. In both Re$_{0.82}$Nb$_{0.18}$ and pure Re, the spontaneous magnetic fields revealed by zero-field $mu$SR below $T_c$ indicate time-reversal symmetry breaking and thus unconventional superconductivity. The concomitant occurrence of TRSB in centrosymmetric Re and noncentrosymmetric Re$T$ ($T$ = transition metal), yet its preservation in the isostructural noncentrosymmetric superconductors Mg$_{10}$Ir$_{19}$B$_{16}$ and Nb$_{0.5}$Os$_{0.5}$, strongly suggests that the local electronic structure of Re is crucial for understanding the TRSB superconducting state in Re and Re$T$. We discuss the superconducting order parameter symmetries that are compatible with the observations.
We develop a microscopic and gauge-invariant theory for collective modes resulting from the phase of the superconducting order parameter in non-centrosymmetric superconductors. Considering various crystal symmetries we derive the corresponding gauge mode $omega_{rm G}({bf q})$ and find, in particular, new Leggett modes $omega_{rm L}({bf q})$ with characteristic properties that are unique to non-centrosymmetric superconductors. We calculate their mass and dispersion that reflect the underlying spin-orbit coupling and thus the balance between triplet and singlet superconductivity occurring simultaneously. Finally, we demonstrate the role of the Anderson-Higgs mechanism: while the long-range Coulomb interaction shifts $omega_{rm G}({bf q})$ to the condensate plasma mode $omega_{rm P}({bf q})$, it leaves the mass $Lambda_0$ of the new Leggett mode unaffected and only slightly modifies its dispersion.
We report the study of spontaneous magnetization (i.e., spin-polarization) for time-reversal symmetry (TRS)-breaking superconductors with unitary pairing potentials, in the absence of external magnetic fields or Zeeman fields. Spin-singlet ($Delta_s$) and spin-triplet ($Delta_t$) pairings can coexist in superconductors whose crystal structure lacks inversion symmetry. The TRS can be spontaneously broken once a relative phase of $pmpi/2$ is developed, forming a TRS-breaking unitary pairing state ($Delta_spm iDelta_t$). We demonstrate that such unitary pairing could give rise to spontaneous spin-polarization with the help of spin-orbit coupling. Our result provides an alternative explanation to the TRS breaking, beyond the current understanding of such phenomena in the noncentrosymmetric superconductors. The experimental results of Zr$_3$Ir and CaPtAs are also discussed in the view of our theory.
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