Parity-breaking phases of spin-orbit-coupled metals with gyrotropic, ferroelectric and multipolar orders

Abstract

We study Fermi liquid instabilities in spin-orbit-coupled metals with inversion symmetry. By introducing a canonical basis for the doubly degenerate Bloch bands in momentum space, we derive the general form of interaction functions. A variety of time-reversal-invariant, parity-breaking phases is found, whose Fermi surface is spontaneously deformed and spin-split. In terms of symmetry, these phases possess gyrotropic, ferroelectric and multipolar orders. The ferroelectric and multipolar phases are accompanied by structural distortions, from which the electronic orders can be identified. The gyrotropic phase exhibits a unique nonlinear optical property. Based on recent experiments, we identify several interesting quantum materials including pyrochlore oxides, which show evidence of these parity breaking orders.

5 pages