1,414 research outputs found
Quantum phase slips in the presence of finite-range disorder
To study the effect of disorder on quantum phase slips (QPS) in
superconducting wires, we consider the plasmon-only model where disorder can be
incorporated into a first-principles instanton calculation. We consider weak
but general finite-range disorder and compute the formfactor in the QPS rate
associated with momentum transfer. We find that the system maps onto
dissipative quantum mechanics, with the dissipative coefficient controlled by
the wave (plasmon) impedance Z of the wire and with a superconductor-insulator
transition at Z=6.5 kOhm. We speculate that the system will remain in this
universality class after resistive effects at the QPS core are taken into
account.Comment: 4 pages, as accepted at Phys. Rev. Letter
Non-adiabatic Josephson Dynamics in Junctions with in-Gap Quasiparticles
Conventional models of Josephson junction dynamics rely on the absence of low
energy quasiparticle states due to a large superconducting gap. With this
assumption the quasiparticle degrees of freedom become "frozen out" and the
phase difference becomes the only free variable, acting as a fictitious
particle in a local in time Josephson potential related to the adiabatic and
non-dissipative supercurrent across the junction. In this article we develop a
general framework to incorporate the effects of low energy quasiparticles
interacting non-adiabatically with the phase degree of freedom. Such
quasiparticle states exist generically in constriction type junctions with high
transparency channels or resonant states, as well as in junctions of
unconventional superconductors. Furthermore, recent experiments have revealed
the existence of spurious low energy in-gap states in tunnel junctions of
conventional superconductors - a system for which the adiabatic assumption
typically is assumed to hold. We show that the resonant interaction with such
low energy states rather than the Josephson potential defines nonlinear
Josephson dynamics at small amplitudes.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
Theoretical Description of Pulsed RYDMR: Refocusing Zero-Quantum and Single Quantum Coherences
A theoretical description of pulsed reaction yield detected magnetic resonance (RYDMR) is proposed. In RYDMR, magnetic resonance spectra of radical pairs (RPs) are indirectly detected by monitoring their recombination yield. Such a detection method is significantly more sensitive than conventional electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), but design of appropriate pulse sequences for RYDMR requires additional effort because of a different observable. In this work various schemes for generating spin-echo like signals and detecting them by RYDMR are treated. Specifically, we consider refocusing of zero-quantum coherences (ZQCs) and single-quantum coherences (SQCs) by selective as well as by non-selective pulses and formulate a general analytical approach to pulsed RYDMR, which makes an efficient use of the product operator formalism. We anticipate that these results are of importance for RYDMR studies of elusive paramagnetic particles, notably, in organic semiconductors
Tunnelling density of states at Coulomb blockade peaks
We calculate the tunnelling density of states (TDoS) for a quantum dot in the
Coulomb blockade regime, using a functional integral representation with
allowing correctly for the charge quantisation. We show that in addition to the
well-known gap in the TDoS in the Coulomb-blockade valleys, there is a
suppression of the TDoS at the peaks. We show that such a suppression is
necessary in order to get the correct result for the peak of the differential
conductance through an almost close quantum dot.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
Spectroscopy of phonons and spin torques in magnetic point contacts
Phonon spectroscopy is used to investigate the mechanism of current-induced
spin torques in nonmagnetic/ferromagnetic (N/F) point contacts. Magnetization
excitations observed in the magneto-conductance of the point contacts are
pronounced for diffusive and thermal contacts, where the electrons experience
significant scattering in the contact region. We find no magnetic excitations
in highly ballistic contacts. Our results show that impurity scattering at the
N/F interface is the origin of the new single-interface spin torque effect.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figs., accepted for publication in PR
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