The penetration depth in Sr2RuO4: Evidence for orbital dependent superconductivity

Abstract

The apparent $T^2$-temperature dependence of the London penetration depth in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is discussed on the basis of a multi-gap model with horizontal line nodes. The influence of the nodes in combination with nonlocal electromagnetic response leads to low-temperature behaviors as $-T^2\ln T$ in the London limit and as $T^2$ in the Pippard limit. These behaviors appear only at very low temperature. On the other hand, the interplay of the superconductivity of different bands is responsible for the observed $T^2$-like behavior over the wide temperature range. The experimental data can be fitted well with a set of material parameters as was used in the specific heat fitting.