Superconducting pairing transition tuned by structural distortions in strong spin-orbit coupled systems

Strong spin-orbit coupled systems have been gaining increased attention, as they may host exotic phases such as spin liquids and topological superconductors. In particular, Sr₂IrO₄ has been suggested as a potential candidate for a high temperature d-wave superconductor. However, these materials have strong spin-orbit couplings, and the electronic band structures are sensitive to the structural distortions such as the rotation and tilting of the octahedral cages. Here, we study the effects of these structural distortions on pairing instabilities, and present the transitions between spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairings tuned by structural distortions. Testing our proposals using a series of superlattices is also discussed.