Physics of vortex core in chiral p-wave superconductor

We describe the essence of quantum effects inside s-wave and chiral p-wave vortices, without explicit use of quasiclassical Green function formalism. Physical quantities such as the impurity scattering rate and nuclear spin relaxation rate contain the coherence factor of the Andreev bound states in the matrix element of the transitions. The coherence factor of the Andreev bound state is different from that of a quasiparticle in bulk superconductors. Consequently, the physics within vortex core is different from that in normal state or that in spatially uniform superconducting state. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.