Possibility of irradiation in quasicrystal–quasicrystal tunneling junctions

We predict the external radiation with a frequency half the frequency of alternating Josephson effect to appear when a constant voltage is applied to a quasicrystal–quasicrystal tunneling junction. Thus the phenomenon typical for superconductor–superconductor junctions can be realized for a non-superconducting object. The physical background for this possibility is the “critical” behavior of the wave functions in quasicrystals and electron scattering on a quasiperiodic potential. The effect opens an avenue for new applications of quasicrystals.     

Validation of the Wiedemann–Franz law in a granular s-wave superconductor in the nanometer scale

The present study tries to evaluate the validity of the Wiedemann–Franz law in a granular s-wave superconductor in the presence of concentrated impurities. By using Green's function method and the Kubo formula technique, three distinct contributions of the Aslamazov–Larkin, the Maki–Thompson and, the density of states are calculated for both the electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity in a granular s-wave superconductor. It is demonstrated that these different contributions to the fluctuation conductivity depend differently on the tunneling because of their different natures. This study examines the transport in a granular superconductor system in three dimensions in the limit of large tunneling conductance,which makes it possible to ignore all localization effects and the Coulomb interaction. We find that the tunneling is efficient near the critical temperature and that there is a crossover to the characteristic behavior of a homogeneous system.When it is far from the critical temperature, the tunneling is not effective and the system behaves as an ensemble of real zero-dimensional grains. The results show that the Wiedemann–Franz law is violated in both temperature regions.     

Theory of dc currents in SIS junctions with anisotropic pairing symmetry

Using the scattering theory for superconductive tunneling systems, we formulate a theory for the dc current in a superconducting junction with unconventional anisotropic pairing symmetry. We find that the phase anisotropy of the unconventional superconductor has important effects on the quasi-particle dc tunneling current, leading to an effective phase-anisotropy-dependent order parameter and a strong abnormal current peak in the subgap structure of the tunneling current.     

Direct observation of geometrical phase transitions in mesoscopic superconductors by scanning tunneling microscopy

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we mapped the distribution of the local density of states in a single crystal superconductor heterostructure with an array of submicron normal metal islands. We observe the coexistence of strongly interacting multiquanta vortex lattice with interstitial Abrikosov vortices. The newly formed composite magnetic flux structure undergoes a series of phase transitions between different topological configuration states. The vortex configuration states are strongly dependent on the number of flux quanta and the nanoscale confinement architecture of the mesoscopic superconductor. Here, we present images of vortex phase transitions due to confinement effects when the number of magnetic flux quanta in the system changes. The vortex dynamics in these systems could serve as a model for behavior of confined many-body systems when the number of particles changes.     

超导邻近效应在正常金属层中引起的反常小能隙现象

将散射矩阵方法推广到超导双结系统，对正常金属/正常金属/超导结的隧道电导进行了研究.中间正常金属层中的电子和其Andreev反射空穴之间的相位相干性导致了隧道电导出现反常小能隙现象.综合考虑相干和顺序遂穿，计算结果理想的解释了最近Gupta等人在实验中观测到的反常小能隙现象.     

Interlayer phase coherence and Josephson effects in bilayer quantum Hall systems

When an electron is confined within the lowest Landau level, its position is described solely by the guiding center, whose X and Y coordinates do not commute with one another. The equations of motion do not follow from the kinetic Hamiltonian but from the noncommutative property of the space. Based on this microscopic theory, we analyze the bilayer QH system at the filling factor ?? = 1, and show that there develops an interlayer phase coherence. It is interpreted that the phase coherence occurs due to the Bose-Einstein condensation of composite bosons, which are single electrons bound to magnetic flux quanta. The phase coherence can induce the Josephson inplane current as well as the Josephson tunneling current, which are dissipationless as in superconductor. We demonstrate that the Josephson inplane current provokes anomalous behaviors in the Hall resistance in counterflow and drag experiments. Furthermore, we investigate the condition on the input current for the tunneling current to be coherent and dissipationless. We predict also how the condition changes when the sample is tilted in the magnetic field.     

塞曼效应对正常金属/d波超导结中微分电导的影响

通过外加塞曼磁场在d波超导中,研究磁场对d波超导及其正常金属/d波超导结中隧道谱的影响。研究表明(1)塞曼磁场能使能隙变小,且随着磁场变大,超导态会变为正常态,产生一级相变;(2)塞曼磁场可导致零偏压电导峰劈裂,劈裂宽度为2h0(h0为塞曼能)。     

Probing superconducting phase fluctuations from the current noise spectrum of pseudogapped metal-superconductor tunnel junctions

We study the current noise spectra of a tunnel junction of a metal with strong pairing phase fluctuation and a superconductor. It is shown that there is a characteristic peak in the noise spectrum at the intrinsic Josephson frequency omega(J) = 2eV when omega(J) is smaller than the pairing gap but larger than the pairing scattering rate. In the presence of an ac voltage, the tunneling current noise shows a series of characteristic peaks with increasing dc voltage. Experimental observation of these peaks will give direct evidence of the pair fluctuation in the normal state of high- T(c) superconductors and the pair decay rate can be estimated from the half width of the peaks.     

Evolution of edge states and critical phenomena in the Rashba superconductor with magnetization

We study Andreev bound states (ABS) and the resulting charge transport of a Rashba superconductor (RSC) where two-dimensional semiconductor (2DSM) heterostructures are sandwiched by spin-singlet s-wave superconductor and ferromagnet insulator. ABS becomes a chiral Majorana edge mode in the topological phase (TP). We clarify two types of quantum criticality about the topological change of ABS near a quantum critical point (QCP), whether or not ABS exists at QCP. In the former type, ABS has an energy gap and does not cross at zero energy in the nontopological phase. These complex properties can be detected by tunneling conductance between normal metal-RSC junctions.     

Andreev Tunneling Through a Ferromagnet/Quantum-Dot/Superconductor System

We study Andreev tunneling through a ferromagnet/quantum-dot (QD)/superconductor system. By usingnonequilibrum Green function method, the averaged occupation of electrons in QD and the Andreev tunneling currentare studied. Comparing to the norma-metal/quantum-dot/superconductor, the system shows significant changes: (i)The averaged occupations of spin-up and spin-down electrons are not equal. (ii) With the increase of the polarizationof ferromagnetic lead, the Andreev reflection current decreases. (iii) However, even the ferromagnetic lead reaches fullpolarization, the averaged occupation of spin-down electrons is not zero. The physics of these changes is discussed.     

Giant proximity effect in a phase-fluctuating superconductor

When a tunneling barrier between two superconductors is formed by a normal material that would be a superconductor in the absence of phase fluctuations, the resulting Josephson effect can undergo an enormous enhancement. We establish this novel proximity effect by a general argument as well as a numerical simulation and argue that it may underlie recent experimental observations of the giant proximity effect between two cuprate superconductors separated by a barrier made of the same material rendered normal by severe underdoping.     

Intradot spin-flip Andreev reflection tunneling through a ferromagnet-quantum dot-superconductor system with ac field

We investigate Andreev reflection (AR) tunneling through a ferromagnet-quantum dot-superconductor (F-QD-S) system in the presence of an external ac field. The intradot spin-flip scattering in the QD is involved. Using the nonequilibrium Green function and BCS quasiparticle spectrum for superconductor, time-averaged AR conductance is formulated. The competition between the intradot spin-flip scattering and photon-assisted tunneling dominates the resonant behaviors of the time-averaged AR conductance. For weak intradot spin-flip scattering strengths, the AR conductance shows a series of equal interval resonant levels. However, the single-peak at main resonant level develops into a well-resolved double-peak resonance at a strong intradot spin-flip scattering strength. Remarkable, multiple-photon-assisted tunneling that generates photonic sideband peaks with a variable interval has been found. In addition, the AR conductance-bias voltage characteristic shows a transition between the single-peak to double-peak resonance as the ratio of the two tunneling strengths varies.     

Andreev and single-particle tunneling spectra of underdoped cuprate superconductors

We study tunneling spectroscopy between a normal metal and an underdoped cuprate superconductor modeled by a phenomenological theory in which the pseudogap is a precursor to the undoped Mott insulator. In the low barrier tunneling limit, the spectra are enhanced by Andreev reflection only within a voltage region of the small superconducting energy gap. In the high barrier tunneling limit, the spectra show a large energy pseudogap associated with single particle tunneling. Our theory semiquantitatively describes the two gap behavior observed in tunneling experiments.     

Tunneling of Charged Massive Particles from Taub-NUT-Reissner-Nordström-AdS Black Holes

We apply the null-geodesic method to investigate tunneling radiation of charged and magnetized massive particles from Taub-NUT-Reissner-Nordström black holes endowed with electric as well as magnetic charges in Anti-de Sitter (AdS) spaces. The geodesics of charged massive particle tunneling from the black hole is not lightlike, but can be determined by the phase velocity. We find that the tunneling rate is related to the difference of Bekenstein-Hawking entropies of the black hole before and after the emission of particles. The entropy differs from just a quarter area at the horizon of black holes with NUT parameter. The emission spectrum is not precisely thermal anymore and the deviation from the precisely thermal spectrum can bring some information out, which can be treated as an explanation to the information loss paradox. The result can also be treated as a quantum-corrected radiation temperature, which is dependent on the black hole background and the radiation particle’s energy and charges.     

Local superconducting density of States of ErNi2B2C

We present local tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements at low temperatures in single crystalline samples of the magnetic superconductor ErNi2B2C . The electronic local density of states shows a striking departure from s-wave BCS theory with a finite value at the Fermi level, which amounts to half of the normal phase density of states.     

Excitations in correlated superfluids near a continuous transition into a supersolid

We study a superfluid on a lattice close to a transition into a supersolid phase and show that a uniform superflow in the homogeneous superfluid can drive the roton gap to zero. This leads to supersolid order around the vortex core in the superfluid, with the size of the modulated pattern around the core being related to the bulk superfluid density and roton gap. We also study the electronic tunneling density of states for a uniform superconductor near a phase transition into a supersolid phase. Implications are considered for strongly correlated superconductors.     

Macroscopic quantum coherence in a magnetic nanoparticle above the surface of a superconductor

We study macroscopic quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment in a single-domain particle placed above the surface of a superconductor. Such a setup allows one to manipulate the height of the energy barrier, preserving the degeneracy of the ground state. The tunneling amplitude and the effect of the dissipation in the superconductor are computed.     

Tunneling transport in topological insulator normal metal/insulator/d-wave superconductor junctions

We investigate the tunneling conductance in a normal metal/insulator/d-wave superconductor (NM/I/d-wave SC) junction with a barrier of thickness d and with an arbitrary gate voltage V(0) applied across the barrier region, formed on the surface of a topological insulator, using the Dirac-Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk?(BTK) formalism. We find that the tunneling conductance as a function of both d and V(0) displays an oscillatory behavior whose amplitude decreases with increase of V(0). We also find that when the Andreev resonant condition is met, the tunneling conductance approaches a maximum value of 2G(0), independent of the gate voltage V(0).     

Tuning the Mott transition in a Bose-Einstein condensate by multiple photon absorption

We study the time-dependent dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an optical lattice. Modeling the system as a Bose-Hubbard model, we show how applying a periodic driving field can induce coherent destruction of tunneling. In the low-frequency regime, we obtain the novel result that the destruction of tunneling displays extremely sharp peaks when the driving frequency is resonant with the depth of the trapping potential ("multi-photon resonances"), which allows the quantum phase transition between the Mott insulator and the superfluid state to be controlled with high precision. We further show how the waveform of the field can be chosen to maximize this effect.     

Josephson effect for superconductors lacking time-reversal and inversion symmetries

Because of the absence of a center of inversion in some superconducting compounds, a p-wave admixture to the dominant d-wave (or s) order parameter must exist. If time reversal is also violated, an allowed invariant is the product of the d wave (or s wave), p wave, and an appropriately directed current. We show that this leads to a new and remarkable property of the Josephson current for tunneling into a s-wave superconductor along the direction parallel to the axis of the p-wave component. These ideas are applied to the heavy-fermion compounds which lack center of inversion due to crystalline symmetry, as well as time-reversal symmetry, such as CePt(3)Si. They also apply to the superconducting state of the cuprates in the pseudogap region of the phase diagram where in the normal phase some experiments have detected a time-reversal and inversion symmetry broken phase.