Possible 3D nematic odd-parity pairing in Sr₂RuO₄: experimental evidences and predictions

Due to the presence of a nontrivial three-dimensional spin-orbital entanglement, Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ may be a time-reversal invariant nematic $p$-wave superconductor with coexisting in-plane and out-of-plane pairings. Here we discuss various signatures of such a state if the out-of-plane pairing component is dominant. First, the enhancement of the superconducting $T_c$ under in-plane uniaxial strains is nearly a quadratic function of the strain, because the out-of-plane pairing lacks a linear-order coupling to the strain. Second, when the strain applies along a certain in-plane direction, the nematic $p$-wave pairing exhibits only a single phase transition as the temperature is lowered. These are consistent with several recent uniaxial strain measurements, which are otherwise hard to reconcile with chiral $p$-wave order. We further show that the nematic $p$-wave state can be distinguished from the chiral $p$-wave state through the velocity jumps of certain sound waves at the onset of superconductivity. Possible implications for $\mu$SR experiment under strain and NMR Knight shift measurement are also discussed.