Current and spin correlations in Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov state of a s-wave superconductor

Abstract

In an attempt to characterize the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) phase in a two dimensional s-wave superconductor, we investigate current-current and spin-spin correlations and compare them with those in the BCS phase. The existence of the FFLO phase is demonstrated using a weakly attractive fermionic Hubbard model in presence of a harmonic trap and a population imbalance, caused by a magnetic field. The lower and upper values of the magnetic field, between which the order parameter shows spatial modulations (owing to a finite center of mass momentum pairing), mark the extent of the FFLO phase. In this regime, the current-current correlations show spatial modulation similar to the behaviour of the order parameter, while the longitudinal spin-spin correlations show modulations with a period half of that of the order parameter in the absence of trap and a bimodal distribution in the presence of the harmonic confinement, thereby underlining a dissimilarity in behaviour between the spin and charge sectors.