Possible coexistence of s-wave and unconventional pairing in Na_xCoO_2-yH2O:a new insight from impurity effects

Abstract

To shed light on the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in Na_xCoO_2-yH_2O, the Mn doping effects are studied. X-ray absorption spectroscopy verifies that the doped Mn impurities occupy the Co sites and are with a valance close to +4. Impurity scattering by Mn is in the unitary limit that, however, does not lead to strong Tc suppression. This absence of the strong impurity effects on T_c is not consistent with the simple picture of a sign-changing order parameter. Coexistence of the s-wave and unconventional order parameters is proposed to reconcile all existing experiments and has been directly observed by the specific heat experiments.