Time-reversal symmetry-breaking in noncentrosymmetric superconductors

Abstract

In this paper we examine the appearance of time-reversal symmetry-breaking (TRSB) states in the bulk and at the surface of a noncentrosymmetric superconductor. We utilize a Ginzburg–Landau theory, with coefficients derived from a microscopic model of the superconductor. We show that suppression of the triplet order parameter at the surface stabilizes a TRSB state by locally tuning the system into the bulk TRSB phase. We compare these results with those from centrosymmetric systems, and examine the appearance of a magnetization at the surface.