Mixed-pairing superconductivity in 5d Mott insulators with antisymmetric exchange

Abstract

We investigate the potential existence of a superconducting phase in $5d$ Mott insulators with an eye to hole doped Sr$_2$IrO$_4$. Using a mean-field method, a mixed singlet-triplet superconductivity, $d + p$, is observed due to the antisymmetric exchange originating from a quasi-spin-orbit-coupling. Our calculation on ribbon geometry shows possible existence of the topologically protected edge states, because of nodal structure of the superconducting gap. These edge modes are spin polarized and emerge as zero-energy flat bands, supporting a symmetry protected Majorana states, verified by evaluation of winding number and $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological invariant. At the end, a possible experimental approach for observation of these edge states and determination of the superconducting gap symmetry are discussed based on the quasi-particle interference (QPI) technique.