Is the Sr2RuO4 order parameter two-component
In plain words
If the order parameter has two parts, squeezing the crystal along one axis should split the superconducting transition into two; one probe sees a split and another does not.
Precise statement
Determine whether uniaxial stress along $[100]$ splits $T_c$ of Sr2RuO4 into two thermodynamic transitions, as a two-component order parameter (multidimensional representation or accidental degeneracy) requires. An answer is a thermodynamic detection of the second transition, or a bound on its specific-heat jump below the value predicted by models fitted to the ultrasound data.
What would settle it
Calorimetry or elastocaloric measurements under stress with sensitivity below the predicted second-jump size, on the same samples used for muSR.
Status in the literature
muSR under stress (2021) reported split onsets of superconductivity and time-reversal breaking, while heat capacity under stress found no second transition above a few percent of the main anomaly.
Related problems
- Special case of What is the superconducting order parameter of Sr2RuO4