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

Abstract

The quasiparticle states found in the vortex core of a high-T$_{\rm{c}}$ 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-deGennes-Matricon state at $E\sim 0$ in the core center is not seen. Instead, in a high-T$_{\rm{c}}$ 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 orderparameter 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 orderparameter is of mixed parity, a $[d + i p]$-wave, and the quasiparticle spectra in the core center lacks the E=0 states.