Oblique Vortex Lattice Implies Unconventional Pairing Symmetry in High Temperature Superconductors

The symmetry of order parameters of YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 –} high temperature superconductor was studied with the Ginzburg–Landau theory. The vortex lattice of a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ superconductor is oblique at a temperature well below the transition temperature T _c, where the mixed s– state is expected to have the lowest energy, whereas very close to T _c, the -wave is slightly lower in energy, and a triangular vortex lattice recovers. The coexistence and the coupling between the s- and d-waves would account for the unusual behaviors such as the upward curvature of the upper critical field curve H _C2(T).