2D superconductivity with strong spin-orbit interaction

We consider superconductivity confined at a two-dimensional interface with a strong surface spin-orbit (Rashba) interaction. Some peculiar properties of this system are investigated. In particular, we show that an in-plane Zeeman field can induce a supercurrent flow.Comment: latex, 1 figure in ep

Measuring current by counting electrons in a nanowire quantum dot

We measure current by counting single electrons tunneling through an InAs nanowire quantum dot. The charge detector is realized by fabricating a quantum point contact in close vicinity to the nanowire. The results based on electron counting compare well to a direct measurements of the quantum dot current, when taking the finite bandwidth of the detector into account. The ability to detect single electrons also opens up possibilities for manipulating and detecting individual spins in nanowire quantum dots

Statistics of voltage fluctuations in resistively shunted Josephson junctions

The intrinsic nonlinearity of Josephson junctions converts Gaussian current noise in the input into non-Gaussian voltage noise in the output. For a resistively shunted Josephson junction with white input noise we determine numerically exactly the properties of the few lowest cumulants of the voltage fluctuations, and we derive analytical expressions for these cumulants in several important limits. The statistics of the voltage fluctuations is found to be Gaussian at bias currents well above the Josephson critical current, but Poissonian at currents below the critical value. In the transition region close to the critical current the higher-order cumulants oscillate and the voltage noise is strongly non-Gaussian. For coloured input noise we determine the third cumulant of the voltage.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Strong coupling of a qubit to shot noise

We perform a nonperturbative analysis of a charge qubit in a double quantum dot structure coupled to its detector. We show that strong detector-dot interaction tends to slow down and halt coherent oscillations. The transitions to a classical and a low-temperature quantum overdamping (Zeno) regime are studied. In the latter, the physics of the dissipative phase transition competes with the effective shot noise.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Electrochemical processes and systems: application for tutors

The features of redox reactions and the principles of their balancing according to the medium composition are considered. The basic representations about electrochemical processes and systems are outlined. The reactions and principles of chemical sources of electric energy and electrolysis systems functioning are analyzed. A general idea is given about the chemical properties of metals, corrosion resistance in environments of various aggressiveness, and the protection principles are given. Multivariate tasks and exercises for students, and PhD student’s classroom and independent work are offered. For teachers, PhD students and students of universities of specialties "Chemical technologies and engineering", "Biotechnologies and bioengineering", "Oil and gas engineering and technologies".Розглянуто особливості окисно-відновних реакцій і принципи їх балансування залежно від складу середовища. Викладено фундаментальні уявлення про електрохімічні процеси і системи. Проаналізовано перебіг реакцій і принципи функціонування хімічних джерел електричної енергії та систем електролізу. Узагальнено уявлення щодо хімічних властивостей металів, корозійної стійкості у середовищах різної агресивності та наведено принципи організації захисту від руйнування. Запропоновано багатоваріантні завдання та вправи для аудиторної та самостійної роботи студентів і аспірантів. Розраховано на викладачів, аспірантів і студентів вищих навчальних закладів спеціальностей "Хімічні технології та інженерія”, "Біотехнології та біоінженерія", "Нафтогазова інженерія та технології"

Detecting THz current fluctuations in a quantum point contact using a nanowire quantum dot

We use a nanowire quantum dot to probe high-frequency current fluctuations in a nearby quantum point contact. The fluctuations drive charge transitions in the quantum dot, which are measured in real-time with single-electron detection techniques. The quantum point contact (GaAs) and the quantum dot (InAs) are fabricated in different material systems, which indicates that the interactions are mediated by photons rather than phonons. The large energy scales of the nanowire quantum dot allow radiation detection in the long-wavelength infrared regime

Ab initio study of charge transport through single oxygen molecules in atomic aluminum contacts

We present ab initio calculations of transport properties of atomic-sized aluminum contacts in the presence of oxygen. The experimental situation is modeled by considering a single oxygen atom (O) or one of the molecules O2 and O3 bridging the gap between electrodes forming ideal, atomically sharp pyramids. The transport characteristics are computed for these geometries with increasing distances between the leads, simulating the opening of a break junction. To facilitate comparison with experiments further, the vibrational modes of the oxygen connected to the electrodes are studied. It is found that in the contact regime the change of transport properties due to the presence of oxygen is strong and should be detectable in experiments. All three types of oxygen exhibit a comparable behavior in their vibrational frequencies and conductances, which are well below the conductance of pure aluminum atomic contacts. The conductance decreases for an increasing number of oxygen atoms. In the tunneling regime the conductance decays exponentially with distance and the decay length depends on whether or not oxygen is present in the junction. This fact may provide a way to identify the presence of a gas molecule in metallic atomic contacts.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; added appendi