In-Plane Magnetic Penetration Depth in Sr_{2}RuO_{4}: Muon-Spin Rotation and Relaxation Study

We report on measurements of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth (λ_{ab}) in single crystals of Sr_{2}RuO_{4} down to ≃0.015  K by means of muon-spin rotation-relaxation. The linear temperature dependence of λ_{ab}^{-2} for T≲0.7  K suggests the presence of nodes in the superconducting gap. This statement is further substantiated by observation of the Volovik effect, i.e., the reduction of λ_{ab}^{-2} as a function of the applied magnetic field. The experimental zero-field and zero-temperature value of λ_{ab}=124(3)  nm agrees with λ_{ab}≃130  nm, calculated based on results of electronic structure measurements reported in A. Tamai et al. [High-resolution photoemission on Sr_{2}RuO_{4} reveals correlation-enhanced effective spin-orbit coupling and dominantly local self-energies, Phys. Rev. X 9, 021048 (2019)PRXHAE2160-330810.1103/PhysRevX.9.021048]. Our analysis reveals that a simple nodal superconducting energy gap, described by the lowest possible harmonic of a gap function, does not capture the dependence of λ_{ab}^{-2} on T, so the higher angular harmonics of the energy gap function need to be introduced.