3 research outputs found
Josephson Effect in Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Superconductors
Due to the difference in the momenta of the superconducting order parameters,
the Josephson current in a Josephson junction between a
Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconductor and a conventional BCS
superconductor is suppressed. We show that the Josephson current may be
recovered by applying a magnetic field in the junction. The field strength and
direction at which the supercurrent recovery occurs depend upon the momentum
and structure of the order parameter in the FFLO state. Thus the Josephson
effect provides an unambiguous way to detect the existence of an FFLO state,
and to measure the momentum of the order parameter.Comment: 4 pages with one embedded eps figur
Inhomogeneous Superconductivity in Condensed Matter and QCD
Inhomogeneous superconductivity arises when the species participating in the
pairing phenomenon have different Fermi surfaces with a large enough
separation. In these conditions it could be more favorable for each of the
pairing fermions to stay close to its Fermi surface and, differently from the
usual BCS state, for the Cooper pair to have a non zero total momentum. For
this reason in this state the gap varies in space, the ground state is
inhomogeneous and a crystalline structure might be formed. This situation was
considered for the first time by Fulde, Ferrell, Larkin and Ovchinnikov, and
the corresponding state is called LOFF. The spontaneous breaking of the space
symmetries in the vacuum state is a characteristic feature of this phase and is
associated to the presence of long wave-length excitations of zero mass. The
situation described here is of interest both in solid state and in elementary
particle physics, in particular in Quantum Chromo-Dynamics at high density and
small temperature. In this review we present the theoretical approach to the
LOFF state and its phenomenological applications using the language of the
effective field theories.Comment: RevTex, 83 pages, 26 figures. Submitted to Review of Modern Physic