Spin-Orbit Coupling and Symmetry of the Order Parameter in Strontium   Ruthenate
  Determination of the orbital symmetry of a state in spin triplet Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ superconductor is a challenge of considerable importance. Most of the experiments show that the chiral state of the $\hat{z} (k_x \pm ik_y)$ type is realized and remains stable on lowering the temperature. Here we have studied the stability of various superconducting states of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ in the presence of spin-orbit coupling.   Numerically we found that the chiral state is never the minimum energy. Alone among the five states studied it has $<{\bf \hat L}.{\bf \hat S} >=0$ and is therefore not affected to linear order in the coupling parameter $\lambda$. We found that stability of the chiral state requires spin dependent pairing interactions. This imposes strong constraint on the pairing mechanism. 
James F. Annett, G. Litak, B. L. Gyorffy, K. I. Wysokinski