Prediction and description of a chiral pseudogap phase

Abstract

We point out that a system which supports chiral superconductivity should also support a chiral pseudogap phase: a finite temperature phase wherein superconductivity is lost but time-reversal symmetry is still broken. This chiral pseudogap phase can be viewed as a state with phase incoherent Cooper pairs of a definite angular momentum. This physical picture suggests that the chiral pseudogap phase should have definite magnetization, should exhibit a (nonquantized) charge Hall effect, and should possess protected edge states that lead to a quantized thermal Hall response. We explain how these phenomena are realized in a Ginzburg-Landau description, and comment on the experimental signatures of the chiral pseudogap phase. We expect this work to be relevant for all systems that exhibit chiral superconductivity, including doped graphene and strontium ruthenate. © 2012 American Physical Society.