We study the spontaneous edge current of chiral superconductors with high chirality both in the absence and presence of Meissner screening. We compute the edge current from a self-consistent solution to a set of coupled equations: quasiclassical Eilenberger equation, superconducting gap equation, and Maxwell equation. We find that the spatial dependent chiral edge current is largely suppressed and has more nodes for higher chirality pairings. In the absence of Meissner screening, the integrated current at T=0 is zero for all higher chirality pairings; while it is substantial for chiral p-wave. This conclusion is consistent with previous studies. In contrast, at finite T, the integrated current is non-zero even for higher chiral pairings. It turns out that the spatial varying order parameter is crucial to understand this finite T behavior of the edge current. When Meissner screening is included, the magnitude of the edge currents is reduced for all chiral pairings; however, the reduction is much weaker in higher chirality cases. We conclude that the Meissner effect is not that important for higher chiral pairings. We also consider the effect of the rough surface on the edge current. The edge current of even chiral pairings is inverted by the strong surface roughness; however, that of the odd chiral pairings is not. The sub-dominant order parameters, induced by the surface, are the key to understanding this current inversion. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

In this thesis, we study the unconventional superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 (SRO) and related systems. The superconducting state in SRO remains a puzzle after more than 28 years of study. Early experiments had pointed toward a topological non-trivial time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB) chiral p-wave order. This pairing candidate has attracted a large amount of attention, partly in relation to the possibility of topological quantum computation, and has stimulated studies on higher chirality superconducting systems. In the first part of this thesis, we study the spontaneous edge current in chiral d- and f-wave superconductors. We show that these currents, which vanish in the continuum limit at zero temperature, are generally non-vanishing but tiny, compared to the simplest chiral p-wave case. In the presence of strong surface roughness, the direction of the edge current in the chiral d-wave case can be reversed, compared with that of a specular ideal surface with specular scattering. However, it is shown that this current reversal is non-universal beyond the continuum limit. The chiral p-wave scenario in SRO is overturned by recent Knight shift measurements, highlighting the importance of exploring different pairing symmetries for SRO. Recently, $d_{x^2-y^2} \pm ig_{(x^2-y^2)xy}$, $s' \pm id_{xy}$ and mixed helical p-wave pairings have been proposed as order parameter candidates. However, the stability of these states, especially of the $d_{x^2-y^2} \pm ig$ pairing, remains unclear. In the second part of the thesis, we study the leading superconducting instabilities in SRO in the presence of sizable atomic spin-orbit coupling (SOC), non-local SOC, and non-local interactions. We find that it is difficult to stabilize chiral p-wave pairing in SRO models; this is because, among the triplet p-wave states, the atomic SOC favors helical states over the chiral state. The presence of both d- and g-wave pairings, including a $d_{x^2-y^2} \pm ig$ state, is found when the second nearest neighbor (in-plane) repulsions, together with orbital-anisotropy of the non-local interactions and/or the B2g channel non-local SOC are included. We further analyze the properties, such as nodal structures, in-plane field spin-susceptibility, and spontaneous edge current, of the realized $d_{x^2-y^2} \pm ig$ pairing and find that this state is more compatible with existing experimental measurements than the $s' \pm id_{xy}$ and the mixed helical p-wave proposals. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In this thesis we study the edge currents and the multi-band superconductivity in the unconventional superconductor Sr2RuO4. Numerous measurements have given strong support for a topologically non-trivial time-reversal symmetry breaking chiral p-wave state in this material. However, the spontaneous edge current expected for this order has eluded experimental detection. In this thesis, we present a general theoretical description of the edge currents in chiral superconductors. Our results elucidate the connection between the edge currents and the topological property of the chiral pairing. On this basis, we argue that superconducting gap anisotropy, combined with surface disorder, may provide an explanation for the absence of observable edge currents in Sr2RuO4. In addition, contrary to intuitive expectations, the integrated edge current is found to identically vanish for any non-p-wave chiral superconductor in the continuum limit-- a result which may be connected with the orbital angular momentum problem in chiral superfluids, such as the A phase of He-3. In lattice models, the integrated edge current may not vanish in non-p-wave superconductors but, in general, is substantially smaller compared to that of a simple chiral p-wave. In a separate study, we investigate the multi-band nature of the superconductivity in Sr2RuO4, via explicit microscopic calculations of the multi-band interactions. Our results indicate comparable pairing correlations on all of the bands and the existence of soft collective phase fluctuations--a Leggett mode. We also examine the possibility of alternative time-reversal symmetry breaking multi-band superconductivity which does not necessarily require chiral p-wave pairing. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)