On the possibility of mixed helical p-wave pairings in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$*

The exact nature of the unconventional superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ remains a mystery. At the phenomenological level, no superconducting order parameter proposed thus far seems able to coherently account for all essential experimental signatures. Among the latter is the prominent polar Kerr effect, which implies a nonzero ac anomalous Hall conductivity. Assuming the Kerr effect is intrinsic, it can be accounted for by a bulk chiral Cooper pairing with nonzero orbital angular momentum, such as $p+ip$ or $d+id$, which, however, has difficulties in being reconciled with other experimental results. Given the situation, we propose alternative possibilities with complex mixtures of distinct helical p-wave order parameters, namely, $A_{1u}+iA_{2u}$ and $B_{1u}+iB_{2u}$ in the group theory nomenclature. We show that these states can explain the Kerr data and exhibit salient features that may explain several other key observations in this material, including the absence of spontaneous edge current, a substantial Knight shift drop, and possibly signatures in uniaxial strain and ultrasound measurements.