No Arabic abstract
We study a superconducting hetro-junction with one side characterized by the unconventional chiral $p$-wave gap function $p_xpm ip_y$ and the other side the conventional $s$-wave one. Though a relative phase of $pm frac{pi}{2}$ between any two components of gap functions is favored in the junction region, mutual phase differences cannot achieve $pm frac{pi}{2}$ simultaneously, which results in frustration. Based on a Ginzburg-Landau free energy analysis, the frustrated pattern is determined to be $s+ ieta_1 (e^{ ieta_2 varphi/2}p_x +eta_3 e^{- ieta_2 varphi/2}p_y)$ with $eta_j=pm 1$ ($j=1,2,3$), where $varphi$ is the phase difference between the $p_x$- and $p_y$-wave gap functions. Furthermore, we find that the junction exhibits an anisotropic magnetoelectric effect, manifesting itself as an anisotropic spin magnetization along the edge of the junction.
A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) comprising 0- and $pi$-Josephson junctions (JJs), called $pi$-SQUID, is studied by the resistively shunted junction model. The $pi$-SQUID shows half-integer Shapiro-steps (SS) under microwave irradiation at the voltage $V$ = $(hbar/2e)Omega (n/2)$, with angular frequency $Omega$ and half-integer $n$/2 in addition to integer $n$. We show that the $pi$-SQUID can be a $pi$-qubit with spontaneous loop currents by which the half-integer SS are induced. Making the 0- and $pi$-JJs equivalent is a key for the half-integer SS and realizing the $pi$-qubit.
Topological superconductors represent a newly predicted phase of matter that is topologically distinct from conventional superconducting condensates of Cooper pairs. As a manifestation of their topological character, topological superconductors support solid-state realizations of Majorana fermions at their boundaries. The recently discovered superconductor CuxBi2Se3 has been theoretically proposed as an odd-parity superconductor in the time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor class and point-contact spectroscopy measurements have reported the observation of zero-bias conductance peaks corresponding to Majorana states in this material. Here we report scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements of the superconducting energy gap in CuxBi2Se3 as a function of spatial position and applied magnetic field. The tunneling spectrum shows that the density of states at the Fermi level is fully gapped without any in-gap states. The spectrum is well described by the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory with a momentum independent order parameter, which suggests that Cu0.2Bi2Se3 is a classical s-wave superconductor contrary to previous expectations and measurements.
A unique property of metal nanoclusters is the superatom shell structure of their delocalized electrons. The electronic shell levels are highly degenerate and therefore represent sharp peaks in the density of states. This can enable exceptionally strong electron pairing in certain clusters composed of tens to hundreds of atoms. In a finite system, such as a free nanocluster or a nucleus, pairing is observed most clearly via its effect on the energy spectrum of the constituent fermions. Accordingly, we performed a photoionization spectroscopy study of size-resolved aluminum nanoclusters and observed a rapid rise of the near-threshold density of states of several clusters ($Al_{37,44,66,68}$) with decreasing temperature. The characteristics of this behavior are consistent with compression of the density of states by a pairing transition into a high-temperature superconducting state with $T_c$>~100 K. This value exceeds that of bulk aluminum by two orders of magnitude. These results highlight the potential of novel pairing effects in size-quantized systems and the possibility to attain even higher critical temperatures by optimizing the particles size and composition. As a new class of high-temperature superconductors, such metal nanocluster particles are promising building blocks for high-$T_c$ materials, devices, and networks.
Quantitative description of charge transport across tunneling and break-junction devices with novel superconductors encounters some problems not present, or not as severe for traditional superconducting materials. In this work, we explain unexpected features in related transport characteristics as an effect of a degraded nano-scaled sheath at the superconductor surface. Model capturing main aspects of the ballistic charge transport across hybrid superconducting structures with normally-conducting nm-thick interlayers is proposed. The calculations are based on a scattering formalism taking into account Andreev electron-into-hole (and inverse) reflections at normal metal-superconductor interfaces as well as transmission and backscattering events in insulating barriers between the electrodes. Current-voltage characteristics of such devices exhibit a rich diversity of anomalous (from the viewpoint of the standard theory) features, in particular, shift of differential-conductance maximums at gap voltages to lower positions and appearance of well-defined dips instead expected coherence peaks. We compare our results with related experimental data.
We report superconducting (SC) properties of stoichiometric LiFeAs (Tc = 17 K) studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES). Although the vortex lattice exhibits no long-range order, well-defined SANS rocking curves indicate better ordering than in chemically doped 122-compounds. The London penetration depth of 210 nm, determined from the magnetic field dependence of the form factor, is compared to that calculated from the ARPES band structure with no adjustable parameters. Its temperature dependence is best described by a single isotropic SC gap of 3.0 meV, which agrees with the ARPES value of 3.1 meV and corresponds to the ratio 2Delta/kTc = 4.1, approaching the weak-coupling limit predicted by the BCS theory. This classifies LiFeAs as a weakly coupled single-gap superconductor, similar to conventional metals.