Shear Modulus Anomaly of Unconventional Superconductor in a Symmetry Breaking Field

Abstract

Using Ginzburg-Landau formalism, we theoretically study the isothermal shear modulus anomaly of an unconventional superconductor with a multicomponent order parameter, when the superconducting transition is split by a symmetry-breaking field. Experimental signatures are proposed for both chiral and nematic superconductors. Particularly striking is the vanishing of $C_{66}$ across the lower transition to a nematic superconducting state. Our findings can guide future experiments and shed new lights on materials such as Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ and $M_x$Bi$_2$Se$_3$.