Paper detail

Coexistence of superconductivity and incommensurate magnetic order

The influence of incommensurate spin density waves (SDW) on superconductivity in unconventional superconductors is studied by means of the Bogolubov-de Gennes (BdG) equations. Exploiting translational symmetries of a magnetically ordered two-dimensional system we propose an approach that allows to solve the BdG equations on much larger clusters than it is usually possible for inhomogeneous systems. Applying this approach we demonstrate that the presence of incommensurate spin density waves induces real-space inhomogeneity of the superconducting order parameter even in the absence of external magnetic field. In this case a homogeneous order parameter of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer-type superconducting state is slightly modulated, or equivalently, a small fraction of the charge carriers form Cooper pairs with non-zero total momentum. However, when a sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied, the homogeneous component of the order parameter is suppressed and the system transits to the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state, where the order parameter oscillates changing sign. We show that for s-wave pairing the presence of external magnetic field diminishes the destructive influence of the SDW order on superconductivity. A simple explanation of this effect is also proposed.