Multiple correlation lengths and type-1.5 superconductivity in $U(1)$ superconductors due to hidden competition between irreducible representations of nonlocal pairing

Abstract

A fundamental characteristic of a superconducting state is the coherence length $ξ$. Multicomponent superconductors, particularly ones breaking multiple symmetries, are characterized by multiple coherence lengths. Here we show that even, nominally $single$-component superconductors under certain conditions are characterized by multiple coherence lengths. We consider nearest-neighbor pairing interactions on a square lattice that leads to $s$-wave and $d$-wave representations of link superconducting order parameter. We show that even if the subdominant order parameter is completely suppressed in the ground state, it results in multiple correlation lengths with nontrivial hierarchy, resulting in important physical consequences in inhomogeneous solutions. Under certain conditions, this leads to type-1.5 superconductivity, where magnetic field penetration length falls between two coherence lengths, leading to vortex clustering in an external magnetic field.