1,400 research outputs found
Universal point contact resistance between thin-film superconductors
A system comprising two superconducting thin films connected by a point
contact is considered. The contact resistance is calculated as a function of
temperature and film geometry, and is found to vanish rapidly with temperature,
according to a universal, nearly activated form, becoming strictly zero only at
zero temperature. At the lowest temperatures, the activation barrier is set
primarily by the superfluid stiffness in the films, and displays only a weak
(i.e., logarithmic) temperature dependence. The Josephson effect is thus
destroyed, albeit only weakly, as a consequence of the power-law-correlated
superconducting fluctuations present in the films below the
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition temperature. The behavior of the
resistance is discussed, both in various limiting regimes and as it crosses
over between these regimes. Details are presented of a minimal model of the
films and the contact, and of the calculation of the resistance. A formulation
in terms of quantum phase-slip events is employed, which is natural and
effective in the limit of a good contact. However, it is also shown to be
effective even when the contact is poor and is, indeed, indispensable, as the
system always behaves as if it were in the good-contact limit at low enough
temperature. A simple mechanical analogy is introduced to provide some
heuristic understanding of the nearly-activated temperature dependence of the
resistance. Prospects for experimental tests of the predicted behavior are
discussed, and numerical estimates relevant to anticipated experimental
settings are provided.Comment: 29 pages (single column format), 7 figure
Experimental Designs for Binary Data in Switching Measurements on Superconducting Josephson Junctions
We study the optimal design of switching measurements of small Josephson
junction circuits which operate in the macroscopic quantum tunnelling regime.
Starting from the D-optimality criterion we derive the optimal design for the
estimation of the unknown parameters of the underlying Gumbel type
distribution. As a practical method for the measurements, we propose a
sequential design that combines heuristic search for initial estimates and
maximum likelihood estimation. The presented design has immediate applications
in the area of superconducting electronics implying faster data acquisition.
The presented experimental results confirm the usefulness of the method. KEY
WORDS: optimal design, D-optimality, logistic regression, complementary log-log
link, quantum physics, escape measurement
Collective Excitations of Bose-Einstein Condensates in a Double-Well Potential
We investigate collective excitations of Bose-Einstein condensates at
absolute zero in a double-well trap. We solve the Bogoliubov equations with a
double-well trap, and show that the crossover from the dipole mode to the
Josephson plasma mode occurs in the lowest energy excitation. It is found that
the anomalous tunneling property of low energy excitations is crucial to the
crossover.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Response of thin-film SQUIDs to applied fields and vortex fields: Linear SQUIDs
In this paper we analyze the properties of a dc SQUID when the London
penetration depth \lambda is larger than the superconducting film thickness d.
We present equations that govern the static behavior for arbitrary values of
\Lambda = \lambda^2/d relative to the linear dimensions of the SQUID. The
SQUID's critical current I_c depends upon the effective flux \Phi, the magnetic
flux through a contour surrounding the central hole plus a term proportional to
the line integral of the current density around this contour. While it is well
known that the SQUID inductance depends upon \Lambda, we show here that the
focusing of magnetic flux from applied fields and vortex-generated fields into
the central hole of the SQUID also depends upon \Lambda. We apply this
formalism to the simplest case of a linear SQUID of width 2w, consisting of a
coplanar pair of long superconducting strips of separation 2a, connected by two
small Josephson junctions to a superconducting current-input lead at one end
and by a superconducting lead at the other end. The central region of this
SQUID shares many properties with a superconducting coplanar stripline. We
calculate magnetic-field and current-density profiles, the inductance
(including both geometric and kinetic inductances), magnetic moments, and the
effective area as a function of \Lambda/w and a/w.Comment: 18 pages, 20 figures, revised for Phys. Rev. B, the main revisions
being to denote the effective flux by \Phi rather than
Formalizing Chemical Physics using the Lean Theorem Prover
Chemical theory can be made more rigorous using the Lean theorem prover, an
interactive theorem prover for complex mathematics. We formalize the Langmuir
and BET theories of adsorption, making each scientific premise clear and every
step of the derivations explicit. Lean's math library, mathlib, provides
formally verified theorems for infinite geometries series, which are central to
BET theory. While writing these proofs, Lean prompts us to include mathematical
constraints that were not originally reported. We also illustrate how Lean
flexibly enables the reuse of proofs that build on more complex theories
through the use of functions, definitions, and structures. Finally, we
construct scientific frameworks for interoperable proofs, by creating
structures for classical thermodynamics and kinematics, using them to formalize
gas law relationships like Boyle's Law and equations of motion underlying
Newtonian mechanics, respectively. This approach can be extended to other
fields, enabling the formalization of rich and complex theories in science and
engineering
Voltage rectification by a SQUID ratchet
We argue that the phase across an asymmetric dc SQUID threaded by a magnetic
flux can experience an effective ratchet (periodic and asymmetric) potential.
Under an external ac current, a rocking ratchet mechanism operates whereby one
sign of the time derivative of the phase is favored. We show that there exists
a range of parameters in which a fixed sign (and, in a narrower range, even a
fixed value) of the average voltage across the ring occurs, regardless of the
sign of the external current dc component.Comment: 4 pages, 4 EPS figures, uses psfig.sty. Revised version, to appear in
Physical Review Letters (26 August 1996
Nonlinear Dynamics in Double Square Well Potential
Considering the coherent nonlinear dynamics in double square well potential
we find the example of coexistence of Josephson oscillations with a
self-trapping regime. This macroscopic bistability is explained by proving
analytically the simultaneous existence of symmetric, antisymmetric and
asymmetric stationary solutions of the associated Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
The effect is illustrated and confirmed by numerical simulations. This property
allows to make suggestions on possible experiments using Bose-Einstein
condensates in engineered optical lattices or weakly coupled optical waveguide
arrays
Pion Propagation near the QCD Chiral Phase Transition
We point out that, in analogy with spin waves in antiferromagnets, all
parameters describing the real-time propagation of soft pions at temperatures
below the QCD chiral phase transition can be expressed in terms of static
correlators. This allows, in principle, the determination of the soft pion
dispersion relation on the lattice. Using scaling and universality arguments,
we determine the critical behavior of the parameters of pion propagation. We
predict that when the critical temperature is approached from below, the pole
mass of the pion drops despite the growth of the pion screening mass. This fact
is attributed to the decrease of the pion velocity near the phase transition.Comment: 8 pages (single column), RevTeX; added references, version to be
published in PR
Vortex Collisions: Crossing or Recombination?
We investigate the collision of two vortex lines moving with viscous dynamics
and driven towards each other by an applied current. Using London theory in the
approach phase we observe a non-trivial vortex conformation producing
anti-parallel segments; their attractive interaction triggers a violent
collision. The collision region is analyzed using the time-dependent
Ginzburg-Landau equation. While we find vortices will always recombine through
exchange of segments, a crossing channel appears naturally through a double
collision process.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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