Possible unconventional order parameter in single crystals of SrPt3P superconductor

Abstract

Anisotropic properties of single crystals of SrPt3P were studied using London penetration depth and electrical resistivity measurements. The upper critical field, , was determined from four-probe electrical resistivity measurements for three orthogonal directions of a magnetic field with respect to the crystal. The London penetration depth, , was determined from the magnetic susceptibility of the Meissner–London state measured using a tunnel-diode resonator technique. Whereas and the normal-state are practically identical for all three magnetic field orientations, the London penetration depth shows significant unidirectional anisotropy. The low-temperature is exponentially attenuated when a small excitation radiofrequency magnetic field, H rf , is applied along the -direction, in which case screening currents flow in the -plane, while for the other two orientations, and , the London penetration depth shows a much stronger, , variation. Such unusual and contrasting behavior of the two anisotropies, and , imposes significant constraints on the possible order parameter. Although our measurements are insufficient to derive conclusively the superconducting gap anisotropy, the order parameter with two point nodes and a modulation in the perpendicular direction is qualitatively consistent with the experimental observations.