ArXiv · 2026
We show that tuning Rashba spin-orbit coupling can change the in-plane field direction along which an s-wave superconductor is most susceptible to Zeeman depairing. We consider a two-dimensional s-wave superconductor subject to an odd-parity exchange field induced by a p-wave magnet. Without Rashba coupling, the out-of-plane exchange field enhances the in-plane critical field but leaves its angular response exactly isotropic, despite the anisotropic magnetic spin texture. Minimizing the Bogoliubov–de Gennes grand potential over uniform singlet pairing, we find that increasing Rashba coupling first generates and then reverses the principal-axis critical-field contrast, switching the minimum-critical-field direction by 90^∘. Equal principal-axis fields at the intervening compensation point coexist with residual angular modulation. We interpret the reversal through competing momentum-dependent depairing contributions from the magnetic and Rashba spin textures, while the on-site singlet pairing channel remains unchanged. Direction-dependent discontinuous collapses of the order parameter further shape the critical-field curves. These results identify a tunable directional paramagnetic response within the uniform-pairing sector. In heterostructures with sufficient electrostatic tunability of interfacial Rashba coupling, this reversal would enable gate control of the easy-depairing axis without reorienting the magnetic texture.
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