Double Andreev Reflections in Type-II Weyl Semimetal-Superconductor Junctions

We study the Andreev reflections (ARs) at the interface of the type-II Weyl semimetal-superconductor junctions and find double ARs when the superconductor is put in the Weyl semimetal band tilting direction, which is similar to the double reflections of light in anisotropic crystals. The directions of the double (retro and specular) ARs are symmetric about the normal due to the hyperboloidal Fermi surface near the Weyl nodes, but with different AR amplitudes depending on the direction and energy of the incident electron. When the normal direction of the Weyl semimetal-superconductor interface is changed from parallel to perpendicular with the tilt direction, the double ARs gradually evolve from one retro-AR and one specular AR, passing through double retro-ARs, one specular AR and one retro-AR, into one retro AR and one normal reflection, resulting in an anisotropic conductance which can be observed in experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Mode mixing induced by disorder in graphene PNP junction in a magnetic field

We study the electron transport through the graphene PNP junction under a magnetic field and show that modes mixing plays an essential role. By using the non-equilibrium Green's function method, the space distribution of the scattering state for a specific incident modes as well the elements of the transmission and reflection coefficient matrixes are investigated. All elements of the transmission (reflection) coefficient matrixes are very different for a perfect PNP junction, but they are same at a disordered junction due to the mode mixing. The space distribution of the scattering state for the different incident modes also exhibit the similar behaviors, that they distinctly differ from each other in the perfect junction but are almost same in the disordered junction. For a unipolar junction, when the mode number in the center region is less than that in the left and right regions, the fluctuations of the total transmission and reflection coefficients are zero, although each element has a large fluctuation. These results clearly indicate the occurrence of perfect mode mixing and it plays an essential role in a graphene PNP junction transport

Josephson junction on one edge of a two dimensional topological insulator affected by magnetic impurity

Current-phase relation in a Josephson junction formed by putting two s-wave superconductors on the same edge of a two dimensional topological insulator is investigated. We consider the case that the junction length is finite and magnetic impurity exists. The similarity and difference with conventional Josephson junction is discussed. The current is calculated in the semiconductor picture. Both the $2\pi$- and $4\pi$-period current-phase relations ($I_{2\pi}(\phi), I_{4\pi}(\phi)$) are studied. There is a sharp jump at $\phi=\pi$ and $\phi=2\pi$ for $I_{2\pi}$ and $I_{4\pi}$ respectively in the clean junction. For $I_{2\pi}$, the sharp jump is robust against impurity strength and distribution. However for $I_{4\pi}$, the impurity makes the jump at $\phi=2\pi$ smooth. The critical (maximum) current of $I_{2\pi}$ is given and we find it will be increased by asymmetrical distribution of impurity.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Spin-current diode with a ferromagnetic semiconductor

Diode is a key device in electronics: the charge current can flow through the device under a forward bias, while almost no current flows under a reverse bias. Here we propose a corresponding device in spintronics: the spin-current diode, in which the forward spin current is large but the reversed one is negligible. We show that the lead/ferromagnetic quantum dot/lead system and the lead/ferromagnetic semiconductor/lead junction can work as spin-current diodes. The spin-current diode, a low dissipation device, may have important applications in spintronics, as the conventional charge-current diode does in electronics.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The spin-polarized ν=0\nu=0 state of graphene: a spin superconductor

We study the spin-polarized $\nu=0$ Landau-level state of graphene. Due to the electron-hole attractive interaction, electrons and holes can bound into pairs. These pairs can then condense into a spin-triplet superfluid ground state: a spin superconductor state. In this state, a gap opens up in the edge bands as well as in the bulk bands, thus it is a charge insulator, but it can carry the spin current without dissipation. These results can well explain the insulating behavior of the spin-polarized $\nu=0$ state in the recent experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Topological states and quantized current in helical molecules

We report a theoretical study of electron transport along helical molecules under an external electric field, which is perpendicular to the helix axis of the molecule. Our results reveal that the topological states could appear in single-helical molecule and double-stranded DNA in the presence of the perpendicular electric field. And these topological states guarantee adiabatic charge pumping across the helical molecules by rotating the electric field in the transverse plane and the pumped current at zero bias voltage is quantized. In addition, the quantized current constitutes multiple plateaus by scanning the Fermi energy as well as the bias voltage, and hold for various model parameters, since they are topologically protected against perturbations. These results could motivate further experimental and theoretical studies in the electron transport through helical molecules, and pave the way to detect topological states and quantized current in the biological systems.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure