The phase transition phenomena in anisotropic superconductors: effect of the orthorhombic crystal field and the potential impurity scattering

Abstract

A combined effect of the orthorhombic crystal field and potential impurity scattering on several superconducting states of a tetragonal symmetry is studied within a weak-coupling mean field approach. It is shown that the nonmagnetic impurities stabilize the states belonging to the identity irreducible representation. The electronic specific heat jump at the phase transition is analyzed. Its dependence on the potential scattering rate for large impurity concentration is shown to be remarkably different for the states with a nonzero value of the Fermi surface averaged order parameter than for those with a vanishing one. In particular, very distinct signals from d_{x^2-y^2} state in YBCO and d_{xy} state in BSCCO compound are predicted. This effect may be used as a test for the presence of these states in the above cuprates.