Abstract
A -wave superconductor, subject to strong phase fluctuations, is known to suffer an antiferromagnetic instability closely related to the chiral symmetry breaking in ( )-dimensional quantum electrodynamics ( ). Based on this idea we formulate a “ in a box” theory of local instabilities of a -wave superconductor in the vicinity of a single pinned vortex undergoing quantum fluctuations. As a generic outcome we find an incommensurate 2D spin density wave forming in the neighborhood of a vortex with a concomitant “checkerboard” pattern in the local electronic density of states, in agreement with recent neutron scattering and tunneling spectroscopy measurements.
- Received 11 March 2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.257005
©2002 American Physical Society