Influence of the pair coherence on the charge tunneling through a quantum dot connected to a superconducting lead

We analyze the charge transport through a single level quantum dot coupled to a normal (N) and superconducting (S) leads where the electron pairs exist either as the coherent (for temperatures below T_c) or incoherent objects (in a region T_c < T < T*). This situation can be achieved in practice if one uses the high T_c superconducting material where various precursor effects have been observed upon approaching $T_{c}$ from above. Without restricting to any particular microscopic mechanism we investigate some qualitative changes of the nonequilibrium charge current caused by the electron pair coherence.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Meservey-Tedrow-Fulde effect in a quantum dot embedded between metallic and superconducting electrodes

Magnetic field applied to the quantum dot coupled between one metallic and one superconducting electrode can produce a similar effect as has been experimentally observed by Meservey, Tedrow and Fulde [Phys. Rev. Lett. 25, 1270 (1970)] for the planar normal metal -- superconductor junctions. We investigate the tunneling current and show that indeed the square root singularities of differential conductance exhibit the Zeeman splitting near the gap edge features V = +/- Delta/e. Since magnetic field affects also the in-gap states of quantum dot it furthermore imposes a hyperfine structure on the anomalous (subgap) Andreev current which has a crucial importance for a signature of the Kondo resonance.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Spin-Orbit Coupling and Symmetry of the Order Parameter in Strontium Ruthenate

Determination of the orbital symmetry of a state in spin triplet Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ superconductor is a challenge of considerable importance. Most of the experiments show that the chiral state of the $\hat{z} (k_x \pm ik_y)$ type is realized and remains stable on lowering the temperature. Here we have studied the stability of various superconducting states of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Numerically we found that the chiral state is never the minimum energy. Alone among the five states studied it has $=0$ and is therefore not affected to linear order in the coupling parameter $\lambda$. We found that stability of the chiral state requires spin dependent pairing interactions. This imposes strong constraint on the pairing mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Thermoelectric phenomena in a quantum dot asymmetrically coupled to external leads

We study thermoelectric phenomena in a system consisting of strongly correlated quantum dot coupled to external leads in the Kondo regime. We calculate linear and nonlinear electrical and thermal conductance and thermopower of the quantum dot and discuss the role of asymmetry in the couplings to external electrodes. In the linear regime electrical and thermal conductances are modified, while thermopower remains unchanged. In the nonlinear regime the Kondo resonance in differential conductance develops at non-zero source-drain voltage, which has important consequences on thermoelectric properties of the system and the thermopower starts to depend on the asymmetry. We also discuss Wiedemann-Franz relation, thermoelectric figure of merit and validity of the Mott formula for thermopower.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Magnetic field induced rotation of the d-vector in the spin triplet superconductor Sr2_2RuO4_4

In zero magnetic field the superconductor Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is believed to have a chiral spin triplet pairing state in which the gap function d-vector is aligned along the crystal c-axis. Using a phenomenological but orbital specific description of the spin dependent electron-electron attraction and a realistic quantitative account of the electronic structure in the normal state we analyze the orientation of the spin triplet Cooper pair d-vector in response to an external c-axis magnetic field. We show that for suitable values of the model parameters a c-axis field of only 20 mT is able to cause a reorientation phase transition of the d-vector from along $c$ to the $a-b$ plane, in agreement with recent experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. Submitted Phys Rev

Interlayer Coupling and p-wave Pairing in Strontium Ruthenate

On the basis of a three orbital model and an effective attractive interaction between electrons we investigate the possible superconducting states, with $p$ and $f$-wave internal symmetry, of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. For an orbital dependent interaction which acts between in plane and out of plane nearest neighbour Ruthenium atoms we find a state for which the gap in the quasi-particle spectra has a line node on the $\alpha$ and $\beta$ sheets of the Fermi Surface, but it is complex with no nodes on the $\gamma$-sheet. We show that this state is consistent with all the available experimental data. In particular, we present the results of our calculations of the specific heat and penetration depth as functions of the temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Extension of Frohlich's method to 4-fermion interactions

Higher order terms of the transformed electron-phonon Hamiltonian, obtained by performing the Frohlich's transformation, are investigated. The influence of terms discarded by Frohlich (in particular those proportional to the third power of electron-phonon coupling) on the effective Hamiltonian is examined. To this end a second Frohlich-type transformation is performed, which yields, among others, an effective 4-electron interaction. This interaction is reduced to a form admitting solution of thermodynamics. The form of the coupling of the 4-electron interaction is found. By applying standard approximations, it is shown that this interaction is attractive with interaction coupling given by - D_{k_F}^6 / \omega_{k_F}^5, where D_{k} is electron-phonon coupling, \omega_{k}$ is phonon energy and k_F is Fermi momentum. The form of higher order terms of the original Frohlich-transformed H_{e-ph} are also found, up to terms proportional to the 6-th power of the coupling, that is up to those, which yield the effective 4-electron interactions.Comment: REVTeX4, 25 pages; major changes: added section and appendix about the form of 4-fermion interaction coupling, typos correcte

Effect of disorder on superconductivity in the boson-fermion model

We study how a randomness of either boson or fermion site energies affects the superconducting phase of the boson fermion model. We find that, contrary to what is expected for s-wave superconductors, the non-magnetic disorder is detrimental to the s-wave superconductivity. However, depending in which subsystem the disorder is located, we can observe different channels being affected. Weak disorder of the fermion subsystem is responsible mainly for renormalization of the single particle density of states while disorder in the boson subsystem directly leads to fluctuation of the strength of the effective pairing between fermions.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. Physical Review B (accepted for publication

Density expansion for transport coefficients: Long-wavelength versus Fermi surface nonanalyticities

The expansion of the conductivity in 2-d quantum Lorentz models in terms of the scatterer density n is considered. We show that nonanalyticities in the density expansion due to scattering processes with small and large momentum transfers, respectively, have different functional forms. Some of the latter are not logarithmic, but rather of power-law nature, in sharp contrast to the 3-d case. In a 2-d model with point-like scatterers we find that the leading nonanalytic correction to the Boltzmann conductivity, apart from the frequency dependent weak-localization term, is of order n^{3/2}.Comment: 4 pp., REVTeX, epsf, 3 eps figs, final version as publishe

Real space inhomogeneities in high temperature superconductors: the perspective of two-component model

The two-component model of high temperature superconductors in its real space version has been solved using Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. The disorder in the electron and boson subsystem has been taken into account. It strongly modifies the superconducting properties and leads to local variations of the gap parameter and density of states. The assumption that the impurities mainly modify boson energies offers natural explanation of the puzzling positive correlation between the positions of impurities and the values of the order parameter found in the scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments.Comment: 19 pages, IOPP style include