Ehrenfest theorem for inhomogeneous superconductors and supercurrent force on Andreev reflected quasiparticles

Quasiclassical equations of motion are derived for quasiparticle wave packets in inhomogeneous superconductors with electromagnetic fields. Besides the Lorentz forces on electrons and holes there are two off-diagonal pair potential forces. The first one is due to gradients of the modulus of the pair potential and responsible for electron-hole scattering from inhomogeneities of the pair potential. The second one results from interactions with the ground state condensate and is proportional to the gauge invariant Cooper pair velocity of surface supercurrents in the interfaces between normal and superconducting regions. The most favorable experimental conditions for the observation of this new force may be found inN-S junctions composed of clean normal metals and type II superconductors with high critical fields, large London penetration depths, and large energy gaps.     

Magnetic instability in superconductivity

Possible magnetic ordering in the magnetic superconductors is investigated by calculating the wave number dependent susceptibility χ(q) in the superconducting state for (i) clean superconductor, (ii-1) dirty superconductor with weak spin-orbit scattering and (ii-2) dirty superconductor with strong spin-orbit scattering. The wave vector q_max which maximizes χ(q) is estimated for each cases and it is pointed out that the possible magnetic ordering in superconducting state is the spin density wave with the wave number q_max.     

Direct observation of a nonmonotonic dx2-y2- wave superconducting gap in the electron-doped high-Tc superconductor Pr0.89LaCe0.11CuO4

We performed high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on electron-doped high-Tc superconductor Pr0.89LaCe0.11CuO4 to study the anisotropy of the superconducting gap. The observed momentum dependence is basically consistent with the dx2-y2- wave symmetry, but obviously deviates from the monotonic dx2-y2- gap function. The maximum gap is observed not at the zone boundary, but at the hot spot where the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation strongly couples to the electrons on the Fermi surface. The present experimental results suggest the spin-mediated pairing mechanism in electron-doped high-Tc superconductors.     

Nonlinear thermomagnetic waves in the resistive state of superconductors

The evolution of thermomagnetic perturbations in the resistive state of superconductors is considered. A qualitative pattern of the formation and further development of nonlinear stationary structures that describe the final stage of thermal and electromagnetic perturbations in a superconductor is investigated. The wave propagation velocity and the wave front width in a superconductor are estimated.     

Theoretical analysis of coherent electron transport in structures containing multiband superconductors with different types of superconducting pairing

Coherent electron transport in structures with multiband superconductors described by models of intraorbital (the s _± model) and interorbital superconducting pairing has been theoretically considered. Conductivities of junctions of a single-band normal metal with superconducting pnictides for these pairing models have been calculated. Temperature and phase dependences of the Josephson current through junctions containing a conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor and a superconducting pnictide have been calculated within the considered pairing models taking into account temperature dependences of superconducting order parameters.     

Competition between BCS and FFLO States in Magnetic Superconductors in a Cryptoferromagnetic Phase

The possibility of appearance of inhomogeneous superconducting Fulde—Ferrell—Larkin—Ovchinnikov (FFLO) states in magnetic superconductors in a cryptoferromagnetic phase with helical magnetic ordering has been analyzed. The dependence of the critical temperature on the angle between the wave vectors of the spatial modulation of the FFLO state and helical magnetic structure has been calculated within the proposed model. It has been shown that their mutually perpendicular orientation corresponds to the most energetically favorable state. The numerical calculations have also shown the existence of a tricritical point on a line separating the Bardeen—Cooper—Schrieffer and FFLO phases on the phase diagram of states. Furthermore, FFLO states can appear in a magnetic superconductor even at fairly strong exchange fields because of the difference between the effective masses of conduction electrons in different spin subbands and the anisotropy of the Fermi surface.

     

无序超导的动力学理论

基于分形振子(fracton)-电子相互作用,提出了一个无序超导的动力学理论;证明了无序超导体中的电子通过交换虚分形振子可能产生一个有效的吸引作用,它使得具有相反波矢和自旋的电子组成库珀对,从而导致超导。本理论从动力学观点导出了渗流超导的临界温度。 关键词：     

Theoretical Study for Folded Waveguide Traveling Wave Tube

A wideband folded waveguide traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifier has advantages of simpler coupling structures and robust structure over the conventional helix TWT. The phase velocity of waves in folded waveguide is slowed down to the velocity of electron beam. Slow-wave interaction with the electron beam in folded waveguide is studied in a linear fashion. For a cold beam, the linear theory predicts a gain of 2 dB/cm and a bandwidth of 37% at the center frequency of 14 GHz. A closed algebraic dispersion relation for the frequency and the axial phase shift per period is obtained using an equivalent circuit model. Numerical solution calculated from the dispersion relation and three-dimensional electromagnetic code, HFSS simulations predict a mode coalescing in the folded waveguide. And a theoretical phase velocity prediction of the electromagnetic wave in this circuit is verified by HFSS simulations.     

Electron—hole superconductivity. Influence of structure defects

The ground state and the electromagnetic properties of the superconductor with the pairing of the spatially separated electrons and holes (EHSC) are investigated taking into account the defects, impurities and the films roughness. The bound states into the energy gap are found. The critical value of the free path of the quasiparticles at the films (destroying the pairing) is obtained (the result is also applied to the superconductors with pairing of the electrons from different layers). The electromagnetic response in EHSC, taking into consideration the scattering by the defects, is calculated. It corresponds to the ideal conductivity.     

Probing the unconventional superconducting state of LiFeAs by quasiparticle interference

A crucial step in revealing the nature of unconventional superconductivity is to investigate the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy has proven a powerful technique to probe this symmetry by measuring the quasiparticle interference (QPI) which sensitively depends on the superconducting pairing mechanism. A particularly well-suited material to apply this technique is the stoichiometric superconductor LiFeAs as it features clean, charge neutral cleaved surfaces without surface states and a relatively high T(c)～18 K. Our data reveal that in LiFeAs the quasiparticle scattering is governed by a van Hove singularity at the center of the Brillouin zone which is in stark contrast to other pnictide superconductors where nesting is crucial for both scattering and s(±) superconductivity. Indeed, within a minimal model and using the most elementary order parameters, calculations of the QPI suggest a dominating role of the holelike bands for the quasiparticle scattering. Our theoretical findings do not support the elementary singlet pairing symmetries s(++), s(±), and d wave. This brings to mind that the superconducting pairing mechanism in LiFeAs is based on an unusual pairing symmetry such as an elementary p wave (which provides optimal agreement between the experimental data and QPI simulations) or a more complex order parameter (e.g., s+id wave symmetry).     

Interaction between gravity and moving superconductors

We propose a unified phenomenological theory to investigate the interaction between arbitrarily moving superconductors and gravitational fields including the Newtonian gravity, gravitational waves, vector transverse gravitoelectric fields, and vector gravitomagnetic fields. In the limit of weak field and low velocity, the expressions for the induced electromagnetic and gravitational fields in the interior of a moving superconductor are obtained. The Meissner effect, London moment, DeWitt effect, effects of gravitational wave on a superconductor, and induced electric fields in the interior of a freely vibrating superconductor are recovered from these two expressions. We demonstrate that the weak equivalence principle is valid in superconductivity, that Newtonian gravity and gravitational waves will penetrate either a moving superconductor or a superconductor at rest, and that a superconductor at rest cannot shield either vector gravitomagnetic fields or vector transverse gravitoelectric fields.     

Giant Nernst effect in CeCoIn5

We present a study of Nernst and Seebeck coefficients of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5. Below 18 K, concomitant with a field-dependent Seebeck coefficient, a large sublinear Nernst signal emerges with a magnitude drastically exceeding what is expected for a multiband Fermi-liquid metal. In the mixed state, in contrast with all other superconductors studied before, this signal overwhelms the one associated with the motion of superconducting vortices. The results point to a hitherto unknown source of transverse thermoelectricity in strongly interacting electrons.     

Unconventional superconductivity

‘Conventional’ superconductivity, as used in this review, refers to electron–phonon-coupled superconducting electron pairs described by BCS theory. Unconventional superconductivity refers to superconductors where the Cooper pairs are not bound together by phonon exchange but instead by exchange of some other kind, e.g. spin fluctuations in a superconductor with magnetic order either coexistent or nearby in the phase diagram. Such unconventional superconductivity has been known experimentally since heavy fermion CeCu₂Si₂, with its strongly correlated 4f electrons, was discovered to superconduct below 0.6?K in 1979. Since the discovery of unconventional superconductivity in the layered cuprates in 1986, the study of these materials saw T_c jump to 164?K by 1994. Further progress in high-temperature superconductivity would be aided by understanding the cause of such unconventional pairing. This review compares the fundamental properties of 9 unconventional superconducting classes of materials – from 4f-electron heavy fermions to organic superconductors to classes where only three known members exist to the cuprates with over 200 examples – with the hope that common features will emerge to help theory explain (and predict!) these phenomena. In addition, three new emerging classes of superconductors (topological, interfacial – e.g. FeSe on SrTiO₃, and H₂S under high pressure) are briefly covered, even though their ‘conventionality’ is not yet fully determined.     

Direct observation of the scaling relation between density of states and pairing gap in a dirty superconductor

Theories and experiments on dirty superconductors are complex but important in terms of both theoretical fundamentals and practical applications. These activities are even more challenging when magnetic fields are present because the field distribution, electron density of states, and superconducting pairing potentials become nonuniform. Here, we present tunneling microspectroscopic experiments on Nb C single crystals and demonstrate that Nb C is a homogeneous dirty superconductor. When applying magnetic fields to the samples, we found that the zero-energy local density of states and the pairing energy gap followed the explicit scaling relation proposed by de Gennes for homogeneous dirty superconductors in high magnetic fields. More significantly, our experimental findings indicate that the validity of the scaling relation extends to magnetic field strengths far below the upper critical field, calling for a new nonperturbative understanding of this fundamental property in dirty superconductors. On the practical side, we used the observed scaling relation to derive a simple and straightforward experimental scheme for estimating the superconducting coherence length of a dirty superconductor in magnetic fields.     

Autowave dynamics of the magnetic flux in nonideal type-II superconductors with different current-voltage characteristics

An analysis was performed of the processes of penetration of a macroscopic electromagnetic field into superconducting media with different current-voltage characteristics induced by a variable external magnetic field or by carrier transport. It has been shown that even if a finite electrical voltage arises in the superconductor before the critical current is reached, the magnetic flux, as in the critical state model, penetrates into the superconductor at a finite rate as a characteristic electromagnetic wave. At its front, a special condition is fulfilled; namely, a smooth transition to the nonperturbed value of the strength of the electric field induced by an external perturbation. Formulas are given for the calculation of the penetration rate of the electromagnetic field into a superconductor. For corroboration of the formulated relationships, the study was compared with corresponding numerical calculations.     

Chaotic wideband microwave oscillations in a hybrid system consisting of a traveling wave tube and a collector oscillator

A novel hybrid microwave device based on a wideband microwave amplifier, a traveling-wave tube, one component of which is a multistage collector oscillator is proposed and experimentally studied. The collector oscillator can form a virtual cathode via deceleration of electrons that exit from the interaction space of the traveling wave tube. It is shown that this device can generate and amplify centimeter-wave chaotic wideband signals. The characteristics of the chaotic signals (spectral composition and total power) generated in different operating modes of the hybrid device are determined. The issue of amplification of the chaotic wideband signal generated with a virtual cathode in the traveling wave tube amplifier is concisely addressed.     

铁基超导体系基于电子关联强度的统一相图

铁基超导和铜基超导具有诸多相似性,这为建立统一的高温超导机理图像提供了可能性.然而,对铁基超导体系中无论是进行电荷掺杂、还是等价掺杂来改变化学压力,都能产生定性上类似、而细节上纷繁复杂的相图,这对建立统一的图像造成了困难.研究化学掺杂效应如何在微观上影响电子结构和超导电性,区分主导超导电性演化的主要因素和次要因素,对建立统一图像和揭示高温超导机理至关重要.本文综述了对铁基超导体系中化学掺杂效应的一系列角分辨光电子能谱研究,涵盖了基于FeAs和FeSe面的多种代表性铁基超导体系,包括异价掺杂、等价掺杂、在元胞不同位置的化学掺杂,及其对电子体系在费米面结构、杂质散射、电子关联强度等方面的影响.实验结果表明：电子关联性或能带宽度是多个铁基超导相图背后的普适参数,不同的晶格和杂质散射效应导致了并不重要的复杂细节,而费米面拓扑结构与超导电性的关联并不强.这些结果对弱耦合机理图像提出了挑战,并促使人们通过局域反铁磁交换作用配对图像在带宽演化层面上统一地理解铁基超导.     

Neutron-spin resonance in the optimally electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-delta

We use inelastic neutron scattering to probe magnetic excitations of an optimally electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4-delta above and below its superconducting transition temperature Tc=25 K. In addition to gradually opening a spin pseudogap at the antiferromagnetic ordering wave vector Q=(1/2,1/2,0), the effect of superconductivity is to form a resonance centered also at Q=(1/2,1/2,0) but at energies above the spin pseudogap. The intensity of the resonance develops like a superconducting order parameter, similar to those for hole-doped superconductors and electron-doped Pr0.88LaCe0.12CuO4. The resonance is therefore a general phenomenon of cuprate superconductors, and must be fundamental to the mechanism of high-Tc superconductivity.     

Proposal for direct measuring of the Majorana number in a topological superconductor using a quantum dot

We propose to directly measure the Majorana number for one-dimensional topological superconductors using a quantum dot. The setup consists of two topological superconducting wires with four Majorana zero modes, which are coupled to an external quantum dot. The measurement is achieved by utilizing the definition of the Majorana number, which is the charge-parity flipping when changing the boundary condition for the topological superconductor. We consider a control of the boundary condition with voltage gates. When the voltage on the gate are modulated sequentially, the boundary conditions changes and the parity of the superconducting state flips. We demonstrate that this parity flipping will change the electron occupation probability of the quantum dot, which reflects the value of the Majorana number.     

电子回旋共振放大器的理论分析

本文利用动功率定理求解静磁场中运动的相对论性电子束与波导中电磁行波的相互作用问题。引入电子群聚函数这一概念,它有利于分析放大器中电子群聚过程。通过数值计算分析了互作用区中回旋电子与行波场之间能量交换全过程。计算结果表明:纵向波数的虚部不为常量,因此增益特性并非线性;在高效率、高功率输出下要求静磁场B₀高度稳定;调整工作参量降低输出功率值,则对磁场稳定度要求也降低。这些性质可通过对电子群聚过程的分析得到解释。 关键词：