5,588 research outputs found
Quantitative Simulation of the Superconducting Proximity Effect
A numerical method is developed to calculate the transition temperature of
double or multi-layers consisting of films of super- and normal conductors. The
approach is based on a dynamic interpretation of Gorkov's linear gap equation
and is very flexible. The mean free path of the different metals, transmission
through the interface, ratio of specular reflection to diffusive scattering at
the surfaces, and fraction of diffusive scattering at the interface can be
included. Furthermore it is possible to vary the mean free path and the BCS
interaction NV in the vicinity of the interface. The numerical results show
that the normalized initial slope of an SN double layer is independent of
almost all film parameters except the ratio of the density of states. There are
only very few experimental investigations of this initial slope and they
consist of Pb/Nn double layers (Nn stands for a normal metal). Surprisingly the
coefficient of the initial slope in these experiments is of the order or less
than 2 while the (weak coupling) theory predicts a value of about 4.5. This
discrepancy has not been recognized in the past. The autor suggests that it is
due to strong coupling behavior of Pb in the double layers. The strong coupling
gap equation is evaluated in the thin film limit and yields the value of 1.6
for the coefficient. This agrees much better with the few experimental results
that are available.
PACS: 74.45.+r, 74.62.-c, 74.20.F
Josephson -state in superconductor-Luttinger liquid hybrid systems
Josephson current through a Luttinger liquid (LL) under a magnetic field is
theoretically studied. We derive an analytical expression of Josephson current
for clean interfaces, by using quasiclassical Green's function and functional
bosonization procedure. We show that critical currents can be renormalized by
electron-electron interactions at perfect transparency when LL is adiabatically
connected with superconductors. We also find that a generation of -state,
due to spin-dependent energy shift in Andreev bound states (ABS), is prohibited
even at zero temperature when the strength of repulsive interactions reaches
some critical value. The suppression of -state is caused by the low energy
fluctuations propagating in LL, and making the Zeeman splitting in ABS blurred.Comment: 5 pages, 4figure
A Discrete Version of the Inverse Scattering Problem and the J-matrix Method
The problem of the Hamiltonian matrix in the oscillator and Laguerre basis
construction from the S-matrix is treated in the context of the algebraic
analogue of the Marchenko method.Comment: 11 pages. The Laguerre basis case is adde
Energy dependence of current noise in superconducting/normal metal junctions
Interference of electronic waves undergoing Andreev reflection in diffusive
conductors determines the energy profile of the conductance on the scale of the
Thouless energy. A similar dependence exists in the current noise, but its
behavior is known only in few limiting cases. We consider a metallic diffusive
wire connected to a superconducting reservoir through an interface
characterized by an arbitrary distribution of channel transparencies. Within
the quasiclassical theory for current fluctuations we provide a general
expression for the energy dependence of the current noise.Comment: 5 pages, 1 Figur
Shadow on the wall cast by an Abrikosov vortex
At the surface of a d-wave superconductor, a zero-energy peak in the
quasiparticle spectrum can be observed. This peak appears due to Andreev bound
states and is maximal if the nodal direction of the d-wave pairing potential is
perpendicular to the boundary. We examine the effect of a single Abrikosov
vortex in front of a reflecting boundary on the zero-energy density of states.
We can clearly see a splitting of the low-energy peak and therefore a
suppression of the zero-energy density of states in a shadow-like region
extending from the vortex to the boundary. This effect is stable for different
models of the single Abrikosov vortex, for different mean free paths and also
for different distances between the vortex center and the boundary. This
observation promises to have also a substantial influence on the differential
conductance and the tunneling characteristics for low excitation energies.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Experimental evidence of ageing and slow restoration of the weak-contact configuration in tilted 3D granular packings
Granular packings slowly driven towards their instability threshold are
studied using a digital imaging technique as well as a nonlinear acoustic
method. The former method allows us to study grain rearrangements on the
surface during the tilting and the latter enables to selectively probe the
modifications of the weak-contact fraction in the material bulk. Gradual ageing
of both the surface activity and the weak-contact reconfigurations is observed
as a result of repeated tilt cycles up to a given angle smaller than the angle
of avalanche. For an aged configuration reached after several consecutive tilt
cycles, abrupt resumption of the on-surface activity and of the weak-contact
rearrangements occurs when the packing is subsequently inclined beyond the
previous maximal tilting angle. This behavior is compared with literature
results from numerical simulations of inclined 2D packings. It is also found
that the aged weak-contact configurations exhibit spontaneous restoration
towards the initial state if the packing remains at rest for tens of minutes.
When the packing is titled forth and back between zero and near-critical
angles, instead of ageing, the weak-contact configuration exhibits "internal
weak-contact avalanches" in the vicinity of both the near-critical and zero
angles. By contrast, the stronger-contact skeleton remains stable
ac Josephson effect in asymmetric superconducting quantum point contacts
We investigate ac Josephson effects between two superconductors connected by
a single-mode quantum point contact, where the gap amplitudes in the two
superconductors are unequal. In these systems, it was found in previous studies
on the dc effects that, besides the Andreev bound-states, the continuum states
can also contribute to the current. Using the quasiclassical formulation, we
calculate the current-voltage characteristics for general transmission of
the point contact. To emphasize bound versus continuum states, we examine in
detail the low bias, ballistic (D=1) limit. It is shown that in this limit the
current-voltage characteristics can be determined from the current-phase
relation, if we pay particular attention to the different behaviors of these
states under the bias voltage. For unequal gap configurations, the continuum
states give rise to non-zero sine components. We also demonstrate that in this
limit the temperature dependence of the dc component follows
, where is the smaller gap, with the
contribution coming entirely from the bound state.Comment: To appear in PR
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