Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides in the distorted octahedral 1T$^prime$ phase exhibit a large bulk bandgap and gapless boundary states, which is an asset in the ongoing quest for topological electronics. In single-layer tungsten diselenide
(WSe$_2$), the boundary states have been observed at well ordered interfaces between 1T$^prime$ and semiconducting (1H) phases. This paper proposes an effective 4-band theory for the boundary states in single-layer WSe$_2$,describing a Kramers pair of in-gap states as well as the behaviour at the spectrum termination points on the conduction and valence bands of the 1T$^prime$ phase. The spectrum termination points determine the temperature and chemical potential dependences of the ballistic conductance and thermopower at the phase boundary. Notably, the thermopower shows an ambipolar behaviour, changing the sign in the bandgap of the 1T$^prime$ - WSe$_2$ and reflecting its particle-hole asymmetry. The theory establishes a link between the bulk band structure and ballistic boundary transport in single-layer WSe$_2$ and is applicable to a range of related topological materials.
The $4pi$-periodic Josephson effect is an indicator of Majorana zero modes and a ground-state degeneracy which are central to topological quantum computation. However, the observability of a $4pi$-periodic Josephson current-phase relation (CPR) is hi
ndered by the necessity to fix the fermionic parity. As an alternative to a $4pi$-periodic CPR, this paper proposes a chiral CPR for the $4pi$-periodic Josephson effect. This is a CPR of the form $J(phi) propto C , |sin(phi/2)|$, describing a unidirectional supercurrent with the chirality $C= pm 1$. Its non-analytic dependence on the Josephson phase difference $phi$ translates into the $4pi$-periodic CPR $J(phi) propto sin(phi/2)$. The proposal requires a spin-polarized topological Josephson junction which is modeled here as a short link between spin-split superconducting channels at the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator. In this case, $C$ coincides with the Chern number of the occupied spin band of the topological insulator. The paper details three scenarios of achieving a chiral CPR: By only Zeeman-like splitting, by Zeeman splitting combined with bias currents, and by an external out-of-plane magnetic field.
Recently, much research has been dedicated to understanding topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes induced by a magnetic field in hybrid proximity structures. This paper proposes a realization of topological superconductivity in a shor
t Josephson junction at an edge of a 2D topological insulator subject to a perpendicular magnetic field. The magnetic field effect is entirely orbital, coming from a gradient of the order parameter phase at the edge, which results in a soliton defect at the junction with a pair of gapless Andreev bound states. The latter are reducible to Majorana zero modes by a unitary rotation and protected by a chiral symmetry. Furthermore, both ground state and excitations are quasiperiodic in the magnetic flux enclosed in the junction, with the period equal to the double flux quantum $2Phi_0 = h/e$. This behaviour follows from the gauge invariance of the $4pi$ - phase periodicity of the Majorana states and manifests itself as $2Phi_0$ - spaced magnetic oscillations of the critical current. Another proposed observable is a persistent current occurring in the absence of an external phase bias. Beside the oscillations, it shows a sign reversal prompted by the neutral Majorana zero modes. These findings offer the possibility to access topological superconductivity through low-field dc magnetotransport measurements.
In noncentrosymmetric superconductors (NCSs), the conversion of a charge current into spin magnetization - the so called magnetoelectric effect - is the direct indicator of the unconventional, mixed-parity order parameter. This paper proposes a schem
e to detect the magnetoelectric effect by anomalous, equal-spin Andreev tunneling in NCS/ferromagnet contacts. The proposal relies on the ability to generate spin-polarized triplet pairing by passing an electric current through an NCS. Such an induced triplet pairing bears a similarity to the paradigmatic nonunitary pairing in triplet superfluids with a complex vector order parameter ${bf d}$. The qualitative difference is that the induced nonunitary state can be realised in NCSs with a purely real ${bf d}$ by breaking the time-reversal symmetry in current-biased setups. This offers a possibility to access the unconventional superconductivity in NCSs through electrical transport measurements.
Hybrid structures of quantum spin-Hall insulators (QSHIs) and superconductors (Ss) present a unique opportunity to access dissipationless topological states of matter, which, however, is frequently hindered by the lack of control over the spin polari
zation in QSHIs. We propose a very efficient spin-polarization mechanism based on the magnetoelectric (Edelstein) effect in superconducting QSHI structures. It acts akin to the Zeeman splitting in an external magnetic field, but with an effective $g$-factor of order of 1000, resulting in an unprecedented spin-splitting effect. It allows a magnetic control of the QSHI/S hybrids without destroying superconductivity. As an example, we demonstrate a recurrent crossover from $Phi_0$ - to $Phi_0/2$ - periodic oscillations of the Josephson current in an rf superconducting quantum interference device ($Phi_0=h/2e$ is the magnetic flux quantum). The predicted period halving is a striking manifestation of $0-pi$ Josephson transitions with a superharmonic $pi$-periodic current-phase relationship at the transition. Such controllable $0-pi$ transitions may offer new perspectives for dissipationless spintronics and engineering flux qubits.
Non-centrosymmetric superconductors exhibit the magnetoelectric effect which manifests itself in the appearance of the magnetic spin polarization in response to a dissipationless electric current (supercurrent). While much attention has been dedicate
d to the thermodynamic version of this phenomenon (Edelstein effect), non-equilibrium transport magnetoelectric effects have not been explored yet. We propose the magnetoelectric Andreev effect (MAE) which consists in the generation of spin-polarized triplet Andreev conductance by an electric supercurrent. The MAE stems from the spin polarization of the Cooper-pair condensate due to a supercurrent-induced non-unitary triplet pairing. We propose the realization of such non-unitary pairing and MAE in superconducting proximity structures based on two-dimensional helical metals -- strongly spin-orbit-coupled electronic systems with the Dirac spectrum such as the topological surface states. Our results uncover an unexplored route towards electrically controlled superconducting spintronics and are a smoking gun for induced unconventional superconductivity in spin-orbit-coupled materials.
Topological aspects of superconductivity in quantum spin-Hall systems (QSHSs) such as thin layers of three-dimensional topological insulators (3D Tis) or two-dimensional Tis are in the focus of current research. We examine hybrid QSHS/superconductor
structures in an external magnetic field and predict a gapless superconducting state with protected edge modes. It originates entirely from the orbital magnetic-field effect caused by the locking of the electron spin to the momentum of the superconducting condensate flow. We show that such spin-momentum locking can generate a giant orbital g-factor of order of several hundreds, allowing one to achieve significant spin polarization in the QSHS in the fields well below the critical field of the superconducting material. We propose a three-terminal setup in which the spin-polarized edge superconductivity can be probed by Andreev reflection, leading to unusual transport characteristics: a non-monotonic excess current and a zero-bias conductance splitting in the absence of the Zeeman interaction.
Josephson weak links made of two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) exhibit magnetic oscillations of the supercurrent that are reminiscent of those in superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). We propose a microscopic theory of thi
s effect that goes beyond the approaches based on the standard SQUID theory. For long junctions we find a temperature-driven crossover from Phi_0-periodic SQUID-like oscillations to a 2 Phi_0-quasiperiodic interference pattern with different peaks at even and odd values of the magnetic flux quantum Phi_0=ch/2e. This behavior is absent in short junctions where the main interference signal occurs at zero magnetic field. Both types of interference patterns reveal gapless (protected) Andreev bound states. We show, however, that the usual sawtooth current-flux relationship is profoundly modified by a Doppler-like effect of the shielding current which has been overlooked previously. Our findings may explain recently observed even-odd interference patterns in InAs/GaSb-based TI Josephson junctions and uncover unexplored operation regimes of nano-SQUIDs.
The paper examines weak localization (WL) of surface states with a quadratic band crossing in topological crystalline insulators. It is shown that the topology of the quadratic band crossing point dictates the negative sign of the WL conductivity cor
rection. For the surface states with broken time-reversal symmetry, an explicit dependence of the WL conductivity on the band Berry flux is obtained and analyzed for different carrier-density regimes and types of the band structure (normal or inverted). These results suggest a way to detect the band Berry flux through WL measurements.
The paper proposes a self-consistent Green function description of the induced surface superconductivity in a disordered three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) coupled to an s-wave superconductor. We recover earlier results regarding the induce
d spin-triplet p-wave pairing, showing that a mixture of p- and s-wave pair correlations appears as a result of broken spin-rotation symmetry on the helical surface of the TI. Unlike the s-wave pairing, the p-wave component is found to be suppressed in dirty TIs in which the elastic mean-free path is much smaller than the superconducting coherence length. The suppression is due to the generic nonlocality of the spin-triplet correlations, which makes them strongly dependent on the mean-free path in a disordered system. In dirty TIs the induced superconductivity is predicted to be predominantly s-wave like. In cleaner TIs, however, the p-wave component may reach a magnitude comparable with (but not larger than) the s-wave pairing.
