Lifshitz tricritical point and its relation to the FFLO superconducting state (Q401684)

The authors are concerned with the theoretical study of the phase diagram of the spatially inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconducting state using the Ginzburg-Landau free energy. This energy is derived from the microscopic Hamiltonian. The authors calculate the specific heat to show that the onset of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase is accompanied by a jump in the specific heat across a first-order line. A comparison with experimental data allows to obtain quantitative relations between the parameters of the phenomenological free energy.