Physics of Proximity Josephson Sensor

We study the proximity Josephson sensor (PJS) in both bolometric and calorimetric operation and optimize it for different temperature ranges between 25 mK and a few Kelvin. We investigate how the radiation power is absorbed in the sensor and find that the irradiated sensor is typically in a weak nonequilibrium state. We show in detail how the proximity of the superconductors affects the device response: for example via changes in electron-phonon coupling and out-of-equilibrium noise. In addition, we estimate the applicability of graphene as the absorber material.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Journal of Applied Physics, v2: Addition of a new section discussing the radiation coupling to the device, several minor change

Theory of temperature fluctuation statistics in superconductor-normal metal tunnel structures

We describe the statistics of temperature fluctuations in a SINIS structure, where a normal metal island (N) is coupled by tunnel junctions (I) to two superconducting leads (S). We specify conditions under which this structure exhibits manifestly non-Gaussian fluctuations of temperature. We consider both the Gaussian and non-Gaussian regimes of these fluctuations, and the current fluctuations that are caused by the fluctuating temperature. We also describe a measurement setup that could be used to observe the temperature fluctuations.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, final versio

Functional renormalization group study of the Anderson--Holstein model

We present a comprehensive study of the spectral and transport properties in the Anderson--Holstein model both in and out of equilibrium using the functional renormalization group (FRG). We show how the previously established machinery of Matsubara and Keldysh FRG can be extended to include the local phonon mode. Based on the analysis of spectral properties in equilibrium we identify different regimes depending on the strength of the electron--phonon interaction and the frequency of the phonon mode. We supplement these considerations with analytical results from the Kondo model. We also calculate the non-linear differential conductance through the Anderson--Holstein quantum dot and find clear signatures of the presence of the phonon mode.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

Fully Overheated Single-Electron Transistor

We consider the fully overheated single-electron transistor, where the heat balance is determined entirely by electron transfers. We find three distinct transport regimes corresponding to cotunneling, single-electron tunneling, and a competition between the two. We find an anomalous sensitivity to temperature fluctuations at the crossover between the two latter regimes that manifests in an exceptionally large Fano factor of current noise.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, includes Appendi

Altitude dependence of plasma density in the auroral zone

International audienceWe study the altitude dependence of plasma depletions above the auroral region in the 5000?30 000 km altitude range using five years of Polar spacecraft potential data. We find that besides a general decrease of plasma density with altitude, there frequently exist additional density depletions at 2?4 RE radial distance, where RE is the Earth radius. The position of the depletions tends to move to higher altitude when the ionospheric footpoint is sunlit as compared to darkness. Apart from these cavities at 2?4 RE radial distance, separate cavities above 4 RE occur in the midnight sector for all Kp and also in the morning sector for high Kp. In the evening sector our data remain inconclusive in this respect. This holds for the ILAT range 68?74. These additional depletions may be substorm-related. Our study shows that auroral phenomena modify the plasma density in the auroral region in such a way that a nontrivial and interesting altitude variation results, which reflects the nature of the auroral acceleration processes

The occurrence frequency of auroral potential structures and electric fields as a function of altitude using Polar/EFI data

The aim of the paper is to study how auroral potential structures close at high altitude. We analyse all electric field data collected by Polar on auroral field lines in 1996–2001 by integrating the electric field along the spacecraft orbit to obtain the plasma potential, from which we identify potential minima by an automatic method. From these we estimate the associated effective mapped-down electric field <i>E<sub>i</sub></i>, defined as the depth of the potential minimum divided by its half-width in the ionosphere. Notice that although we use the ionosphere as a reference altitude, the field <i>E<sub>i</sub></i> does not actually exist in the ionosphere but is just a convenient computational quantity. We obtain the statistical distribution of <i>E<sub>i</sub></i> as a function of altitude, magnetic local time (MLT), <i>K<sub>p</sub></i> index and the footpoint solar illumination condition. Surprisingly, we find two classes of electric field structures. The first class consists of the low-altitude potential structures that are presumably associated with inverted-V regions and discrete auroral arcs and their set of associated phenomena. We show that the first class exists only below ~3<i>R<sub>E</sub></i> radial distance, and it occurs in all nightside MLT sectors (<i>R<sub>E</sub></i>=Earth radius). The second class exists only above radial distance <i>R</i>=4<i>R<sub>E</sub></i> and almost only in the midnight MLT sector, with a preference for high <i>K<sub>p</sub></i> values. Interestingly, in the middle altitudes (<i>R</i>=3–4<i>R<sub>E</sub></i>) the number of potential minima is small, suggesting that the low and high altitude classes are not simple field-aligned extensions of each other. This is also underlined by the fact that statistically the high altitude structures seem to be substorm-related, while the low altitude structures seem to correspond to stable auroral arcs. The new finding of the existence of the two classes is important for theories of auroral acceleration, since it supports a closed potential structure model for stable arcs, while during substorms, different superposed processes take place that are associated with the disconnected high-altitude electric field structures.<br><br> <b>Key words.</b> Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; auroral phenomena) – Space plasma physics (electrostatic structures

Middle-energy electron anisotropies in the auroral region

Field-aligned anisotropic electron distribution functions of <i>T</i><sub>∥</sub> > <i>T</i><sub>⊥</sub> type are observed on auroral field lines at both low and high altitudes. We show that typically the anisotropy is limited to a certain range of energies, often below 1keV, although sometimes extending to slightly higher energies as well. Almost always there is simultaneously an isotropic electron distribution at higher energies. Often the anisotropies are up/down symmetrical, although cases with net upward or downward electron flow also occur. For a statistical analysis of the anisotropies we divide the energy range into low (below 100eV), middle (100eV–1keV) and high (above 1keV) energies and develop a measure of anisotropy expressed in density units. The statistical magnetic local time and invariant latitude distribution of the middle-energy anisotropies obeys that of the average auroral oval, whereas the distributions of the low and high energy anisotropies are more irregular. This suggests that it is specifically the middle-energy anisotropies that have something to do with auroral processes. The anisotropy magnitude decreases monotonically with altitude, as one would expect, because electrons have high mobility along the magnetic field and thus, the anisotropy properties spread rapidly to different altitudes.<br><br> <b>Key words.</b> Magnetospheric physics (auroral phenomena). Space plasma physics (wave-particle interactions; changed particle motion and acceleration

Charge transport in ballistic multiprobe graphene structures

We study the the transport properties of multiterminal ballistic graphene samples, concentrating on the conductance matrix, fluctuations and cross-correlations. Far away from Dirac point, the current is carried mostly by propagating modes and the results can be explained with the conventional semiclassical picture familiar from ray optics, where electrons propagate along a single direction before scattering or reaching the terminals. However, close to the Dirac point the transport is due to evanescent modes which do not have to follow a rectilinear path. As we show in this Letter, this property of the evanescent modes influences the conductance matrix. However, at best it can be observed by measuring the cross correlations in an exchange Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Giant current fluctuations in an overheated single electron transistor

Interplay of cotunneling and single-electron tunneling in a thermally isolated single-electron transistor (SET) leads to peculiar overheating effects. In particular, there is an interesting crossover interval where the competition between cotunneling and single-electron tunneling changes to the dominance of the latter. In this interval, the current exhibits anomalous sensitivity to the effective electron temperature of the transistor island and its fluctuations. We present a detailed study of the current and temperature fluctuations at this interesting point. The methods implemented allow for a complete characterization of the distribution of the fluctuating quantities, well beyond the Gaussian approximation. We reveal and explore the parameter range where, for sufficiently small transistor islands, the current fluctuations become gigantic. In this regime, the optimal value of the current, its expectation value, and its standard deviation differ from each other by parametrically large factors. This situation is unique for transport in nanostructures and for electron transport in general. The origin of this spectacular effect is the exponential sensitivity of the current to the fluctuating effective temperature.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure