1107.4352 (Karen Michaeli et al.)

Superconductivity and Ferromagnetism in Oxide Interface Structures:
Possibility of Finite Momentum Pairing    [PDF]

Karen Michaeli, Andrew C. Potter, Patrick A Lee

We introduce a model to explain the observed ferromagnetism and superconductivity in LAO/STO oxide interface structures. Due to the polar catastrophe mechanism, 1/2 charge per unit cell is transferred to the interface layer. We argue that this charge localizes and orders ferromagnetically via exchange with the conduction electrons. Ordinarily this ferromagnetism would destroy superconductivity, but due to strong spin-orbit coupling near the interface, the magnetism and superconductivity can coexist by forming an FFLO-type condensate of Cooper pairs at finite momentum, which is surprisingly robust in the presence of strong disorder.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.4352