Structure of the core of magnetic vortices in d-wave superconductors with a subdominant triplet pairing mechanism

Journal article, 2011

The quasiparticle states found in the vortex core of a high-Tc cuprate superconductor may be probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Results of such experiments have revealed typical spectra that are quite different from what is seen in conventional low-Tc superconductors. In particular, the Caroli-de Gennes-Matricon state at E ∼ 0 in the core center is not seen. Instead, in a high-Tc vortex core, quasiparticle states are found at energies that are at a sizable fraction of the gap energy. One explanation for this could be that a finite amplitude of a competing order parameter stabilizes in the vortex-core center. Here I will explore the possibility of nucleating a vortex-core state that locally breaks inversion symmetry. The vortex-core order parameter is of mixed parity, a [d + ip] wave, and the quasiparticle spectra in the core center lacks the E = 0 states.