Josephson effect due to odd-frequency pairs in diffusive half metals

Motivated by a recent experiment [Keizer et al., Nature (London) 439, 825 (2006)], we study the Josephson effect in superconductor/diffusive half metal/superconductor junctions using the recursive Green function method. The spin-flip scattering at the junction interfaces opens the Josephson channel of the odd-frequency spin-triplet Cooper pairs. As a consequence, the local density of states in a half metal has a large peak at the Fermi energy. Therefore the odd-frequency pairs can be detected experimentally by using the scanning tunneling spectroscopy.     

Josephson current through a half metal at low temperatures

We study the Josephson effect in the superconductor/diffusive half metal/superconductor junctions by using the recursive Green function method. In the presence of spin-flip scatterings at the interface, odd-frequency spin-triplet Cooper pairs penetrate deeply into a half metal and carry Josephson current. The critical Josephson current increases with decreasing temperatures near the transition temperature. At low temperatures, however, the critical current decreases with decreasing temperatures. Such reentrant behavior is unusual in the case of s-wave superconductor junctions. The penetration of odd-frequency pairs modifies quasiparticle density of states in a half metal near the Fermi energy, which is responsible for the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of critical Josephson current.     

Conductance spectroscopy of spin-triplet superconductors

We propose a novel experiment to identify the symmetry of superconductivity on the basis of theoretical results for differential conductance of a normal metal connected to a superconductor. The proximity effect from the superconductor modifies the conductance of the remote current depending remarkably on the pairing symmetry: spin singlet or spin triplet. The clear-cut difference in the conductance is explained by symmetry of Cooper pairs in a normal metal with respect to frequency. In the spin-triplet case, the anomalous transport is realized due to an odd-frequency symmetry of Cooper pairs.     

Cooper Molecules: Second Pairing of Cooper Pairs in Gapless Superconductor CeCoIn_5

We establish a quantum field theory of phase transitions in gapless superconductor CeCoIn5.It is found that uniform Cooper pair gases with pure gradient interactions with negative coefficient can undergo a BardeenCooper-Schrieffer (BCS) condensation below a critical temperature.In the BCS condensation state,bare Cooper pairs with opposite wave vectors are bound into Cooper molecules,and uncoupled bare Cooper pairs are transformed into a new kind of quasiparticle,i.e.,the dressed particles.The Cooper molecule s.ystem is a condensate or a superfluid,and the dressed particle s.ystem is a normal fluid.The critical temperature is derived anal.yticall.y.The critical temperature of the superconductor CeCoIn5 is obtained to be T_c = 2.289 K,which approaches the experimental data.The transition from the BCS condensation state to the normal state is a first-order phase transition.     

Intrinsic Hall effect in a multiband chiral superconductor in the absence of an external magnetic field

We identify an intrinsic Hall effect in multiband chiral superconductors in the absence of a magnetic field (i.e., an anomalous Hall effect). This effect arises from interband transitions involving time-reversal symmetry-breaking chiral Cooper pairs. We discuss the implications of this effect for the putative chiral p-wave superconductor, Sr2RuO4, and show that it can contribute significantly to Kerr rotation experiments. Since the magnitude of the effect depends on the structure of the order parameter across the bands, this result may be used to distinguish between different models proposed for the superconducting state of Sr2RuO4.     

Towards a theory of superconductivity based on collective Cooper pairs

Superconductivity could be seen as a Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of Cooper pairs. However, the creation and annihilation operators of Cooper pairs do not satisfy the bosonic commutation relations and then, the mentioned viewpoint has a weakness in its foundation. In this work, we introduce the concept of collective Cooper pairs (CCP) as linear combinations of Cooper pairs and prove their bosonic nature at the dilute limit. This bosonic nature is given rise from their diffuse character on the Cooper pairs, which permits the accumulation of many collective pairs at a single quantum state. Moreover, the superconducting ground state proposed by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) can be written in terms of these collective Cooper pairs, which means that the BCS theory is consistent with a possible BEC theory of superconductivity based on collective Cooper pairs. Finally, we calculate the energy spectra and the BEC critical temperature of CCP.     

Crossover temperature of Bose-Einstein condensation in an atomic Fermi gas

We show that in an atomic Fermi gas near a Feshbach resonance the crossover between a Bose-Einstein condensate of diatomic molecules and a Bose-Einstein condensate of Cooper pairs occurs at positive detuning, i.e., when the molecular energy level lies in the two-atom continuum. We determine the crossover temperature as a function of the applied magnetic field and find excellent agreement with the experiment of C. A. Regal et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 040403 (2004)]] who has recently observed this crossover temperature.     

Long-range superharmonic Josephson current

We consider a long superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor junction with one spin-active region. It is shown that an odd number of Cooper pairs cannot have a long-range propagation when there is only one spin-active region. When the temperature is much lower than the Thouless energy, the coherent transport of two Cooper pairs becomes the dominant process and the superharmonic current-phase relation is obtained (I ∝ sin2?).     

Coherent Cooper pair tunneling in systems of Josephson junctions: Effects of quasiparticle tunneling and of the electromagnetic environment

Small capacitance tunnel junctions show single electron effects and, in the superconducting state, the coherent tunneling of Cooper pairs. We study these effects in a system of two Josephson junctions, driven by a voltage source with a finite impedance. Novel features show up in theI?V characteristics, in particular pronounced structures at subgap voltages. These are due to Cooper pair tunneling, combined with tunneling of quasiparticles or with excitation of the electromagnetic environment.     

Electron-hole pairing with nonzero momentum in a graphene bilayer

Electron-hole pairing due to the Coulomb interaction in the system of two graphene sheets has been considered. The critical transition temperature has been determined as a function of both the distance between the electron and hole Fermi lines and the triangular distortion of their spectrum. It has been shown that when the distance between Fermi lines is longer than a critical value, the temperature of the transition to a state with nonzero momentum of Cooper pairs (Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state) is higher than the temperature of the transition to the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer state. The Josephson effect for the FFLO state has been analyzed, which is due to the tunneling of charge carriers between the graphene sheets. It has been shown that the spatial structure of the order parameter of the system in this state can be reconstructed, i.e., the FFLO state can be identified from the dependence of the tunneling current on the magnetic field parallel to the graphene sheets. Other experimental methods for studying the phase diagram of the system have been discussed.     

Phase-charge duality of a josephson junction in a fluctuating electromagnetic environment

We have measured the current-voltage characteristics of a single Josephson junction placed in a high impedance environment. The transfer of Cooper pairs through the junction is governed by overdamped quasicharge dynamics, leading to Coulomb blockade and Bloch oscillations. Exact duality exists to the standard overdamped phase dynamics of a Josephson junction, resulting in a dual shape of the current-voltage characteristic, with current and voltage changing roles. We demonstrate this duality with experiments which allow for a quantitative comparison with a theory that includes the effect of fluctuations due to the finite temperature of the electromagnetic environment.     

Theory of pairing symmetry in the vortex states

We investigate pairing symmetry in an Abrikosov vortex and vortex lattice. It is shown that the Cooper pair wave function at the center of an Abrikosov vortex with vorticity m has a different parity with respect to frequency from that in the bulk if m is an odd number, while it has the same parity if m is an even number. As a result, in a conventional vortex with m = 1, the local density of states at the Fermi energy has a maximum (minimum) at the center of the vortex core in an even (odd)-frequency superconductor. In the vortex lattice of s-wave superconductor, we find that only odd-frequency pairing is present at the core centers, while at the midpoint of the vortex lines, only even-frequency pairing exists. Thus, the odd and even-frequency pairings also form the lattice in the vortex lattice state. We also propose a scanning tunneling microscope experiment using a superconducting tip to explore odd-frequency superconductivity.     

约瑟夫森器件中的宏观量子现象及超导量子计算

超导体中的电子结成库珀对，凝聚到可以用一个宏观波函数来描绘的能量基态，该波函数的位相是代表了成百万库珀对集体运动的宏观变量．以约瑟夫森结为基础元件的超导约瑟夫森器件，使人们能够控制并测量一个超导体的位相和库珀对数目，因此是研究宏观量子现象的理想系统．文章回顾了约瑟夫森器件中的宏观量子现象研究的发展历程，介绍了当前超导约瑟夫森器件在量子计算中的重要应用，并对它们的未来作了简要的展望．     

Evaluation of the acoustic and non-acoustic properties of sound absorbing materials using a three-microphone impedance tube

This paper presents a straightforward application of an indirect method based on a three-microphone impedance tube setup to determine the non-acoustic properties of a sound absorbing porous material. First, a three-microphone impedance tube technique is used to measure some acoustic properties of the material (i.e., sound absorption coefficient, sound transmission loss, effective density and effective bulk modulus) regarded here as an equivalent fluid. Second, an indirect characterization allows one to extract its non-acoustic properties (i.e., static airflow resistivity, tortuosity, viscous and thermal characteristic lengths) from the measured effective properties and the material open porosity. The procedure is applied to four different sound absorbing materials and results of the characterization are compared with existing direct and inverse methods. Predictions of the acoustic behavior using an equivalent fluid model and the found non-acoustic properties are in good agreement with impedance tube measurements.     

Bosonic nature of collective Cooper pairs

Superconductivity is not considered as a Bose-Einstein condensation, because the creation and annihilation operators of Cooper pairs do not satisfy bosonic commutation relations. However, collective pairs can be constructed by a linear combination of Cooper pairs and we demonstrate in this Letter that these collective Cooper pairs have bosonic nature. In addition, the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconducting ground state can be built by means of these pairs and in consequence, could be treated as a Bose-Einstein condensate.     

On the penetration of the magnetic field into a superconductor

It is known that in superconductors the exponential decay of the magnetic field is an approximation, which breaks down if the dimension of a Cooper pair ξ _f is of the order or smaller than the London penetration depth δ. The appearance of a nonlocal relation between current and field yields deviations from the exponential decay especially a sign reversal of the field at a certain distance. This sign reversal is connected with a change: of the surface energy in superconductors and of the structure of fluxoids together with their interaction. In this paper we present results on the decay of magnetic field which is calculated from the exact BCS-integral-kernel for weak fields. As a result, the nonlocal effects in the framework of BCS-theory can be described in good approximation by the ratio of the London penetration depth δ(T, l) and the dimension of Cooper pairs ξ _f (T, l). The evaluations show, that one has still sign reversal, i.e. large nonlocal effects, in Type II superconductors with a κ(T _c )?,1.6. It should be mentioned that the limit κ?1.6 coincides roughly with the experimentally observed region of attraction of fluxoids. In addition results on the penetration depths are summarized.     

Quasiparticle and Cooper pair tenneling in small capacitance Josephson junctions

The tunneling of single electrons in small capacitance tunnel junctions is influenced by charging effects and by the fluctuations of the elecromagnetic environment. We study the effect of an external circuit with arbitrary impedance on the tunneling of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs in voltage driven Josephson junctions. We present results at finite temperatures and also consider an acdriven system.     

Odd-frequency superconductivity on the Hubbard model using the FLEX approximation

It is an important issue to clarify whether the odd-frequency superconducting state can be derived from microscopic Hamiltonian or not, where gap function has an odd-parity in frequency. We study the instability of following four superconducting states: (1) even-frequency spin-singlet, (2) even-frequency spin-triplet, (3) odd-frequency spin-singlet and (4) odd-frequency spin-triplet. By using the fluctuation exchange (FLEX) approximation on a triangular and square lattice, we find that the odd-frequency spin-triplet pairing can become dominant at a certain region where the suppression of the antiferromagnetic fluctuation due to a geometric frustration becomes prominent.     

Mass Generation in a Fermionic Model with Finite Range Time Dependent Interactions

Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer in their paper on the theory of superconductivity introduced a model of interacting fermions (BCS model) in which the (instantaneous) interaction is only between electrons of opposite momentum and spin (Cooper pairs). Subsequently it was claimed that in the thermodynamic limit the BCS model is equivalent to the (exactly solvable) quadratic mean field BCS model in which the phenomenon of mass generation is present; a rigorous proof of this equivalence is however still an open problem. In this paper we consider an interacting fermionic model in which the Cooper pairs interact through a finite range time dependent interaction. For this model (quartic in the fermions and not solvable) we are able to prove the generation of mass in the thermodynamic limit and its equivalence with the mean field BCS model. The proof is achieved by a convergent perturbation expansion about mean field theory.     

Superconducting fluctuations and the pseudogap in the slightly overdoped high- T(c) superconductor TlSr2CaCu2O6.8: high magnetic field NMR studies

From measurements of the 63Cu Knight shift ( K) and the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate ( 1/T1) under magnetic fields from zero up to 28 T in the slightly overdoped high- T(c) superconductor TlSr2CaCu2O6.8 ( T(c) = 68 K), we find that the pseudogap behavior, i.e., the reductions of 1/T1T and K above T(c) from the values expected from the normal state at high T, is strongly field dependent and follows a scaling relation. We show that this scaling is consistent with the effects of the Cooper pair density fluctuations. The present finding contrasts sharply with the pseudogap property reported previously in the underdoped regime where no field effect was seen up to 23.2 T. The implications are discussed.