title: Observation of half-height magnetization steps in Sr2RuO4.
abstract: Spin-triplet superfluids can support exotic objects, such as half-quantum vortices characterized by the nontrivial winding of the spin structure. We present cantilever magnetometry measurements performed on mesoscopic samples of Sr(2)RuO(4), a spin-triplet superconductor. With micrometer-sized annular-shaped samples, we observed transitions between integer fluxoid states as well as a regime characterized by "half-integer transitions"--steps in the magnetization with half the height of the ones we observed between integer fluxoid states. These half-height steps are consistent with the existence of half-quantum vortices in superconducting Sr(2)RuO(4).
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801-3080, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vakaryuk
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Budakian
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Goldbart
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeno