Spin imbalance in hybrid superconducting structures with spin-active interfaces

We consider a heterostructure consisting of a normal metal and a superconductor separated by a spin-active interface. At finite-bias voltages, spin-filtering and spin-mixing effects at the interface allow for an induced magnetization (spin imbalance) on the superconducting side of the junction, which relaxes to zero in the bulk. Such interfaces are also known to host a pair of in-gap Andreev bound states which were recently observed experimentally. We show that these states are responsible for the dominant contribution to the induced spin imbalance close to the interface. Motivated by recent experiments on spin-charge density separation in superconducting aluminum wires, we propose an alternative way to observe spin imbalance without applying an external magnetic field. We also suggest that the peculiar dependence of the spin imbalance on the applied bias voltage permits an indirect bound-state spectroscopy.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Spin-polarized currents and noise in NS junctions with Yu-Shiba-Rusinov impurities

Conventional superconductors disordered by magnetic impurities demonstrate physical properties drastically different from their pristine counterparts. In our previous work [Phys. Rev. B 92, 245430 (2015)] we explored spectral and thermodynamic properties of such systems for two extreme cases: completely random and ferromagnetically aligned impurity magnetic moments. Here we consider transport properties of these systems, and show that they have a potential to be used in superconducting spintronic devices. Each magnetic impurity contributes a Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound state to the spectrum, residing at sub-gap energies. Provided the YSR states form metallic bands, we demonstrate that the tunneling current carried by these states can be highly spin-polarized when the impurities are ferromagnetically ordered. The spin polarization can be switched by simply tuning the bias voltage. Moreover, even when the impurity spins are completely uncorrelated, one can still achieve almost 100% spin polarization of the current, if the tunnel interface is spin-active. We compute electric current and noise, varying parameters of the interface between tunneling and fully transparent regimes, and analyze the relative role of single-particle and Andreev reflection processes.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

Spectral properties of superconductors with ferromagnetically ordered magnetic impurities

We present a comprehensive theoretical study of thermodynamic properties of superconductors with a dilute concentration of magnetic impurities, with focus on how the properties of the superconducting host change if the magnetic moments of the impurities order ferromagnetically. Scattering off the magnetic impurities leads to the formation of a band of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states within the superconducting energy gap that drastically influences superconductivity. In the magnetically ordered system, the magnetization displays a sudden drop as function of impurity density or magnetic moment amplitude. The drop occurs as the spin-polarized impurity band crosses the Fermi level and is associated with a quantum phase transition first put forward by Sakurai for the single impurity case. Taking into account that the background magnetic field created by the ordered impurity moments enters as a Zeeman shift, we find that the superconducting phase transition changes from second order to first order for high enough impurity concentration.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figure

Superconducting Pairing Amplitude and Local Density of States in Presence of Repulsive Centers

We study the properties of superconductor in presence of a finite concentration of repulsive centers. The superconductor is described by the negative $U$ Hubbard model while repulsive centers are treated as randomly distributed impurities with repulsive interaction. Analyzing the paring potential and local density of states at impurity sites we find a wide range of the system parameters where the $\pi$ - like state could possibly be realized. Comparison of our results to the single repulsive center case is also given.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Physica B in pres

Interplay between single-particle and two-particle tunneling in normal metal-d-wave superconductor junctions probed by shot noise

We discuss how life-time broadening of quasiparticle states influences single- and two-particle current transport through zero-energy states at normal metal/d-wave superconductor junctions. We distinguish between intrinsic broadening (imaginary part $\eta$ of the energy), which couples the bound states with the superconducting reservoir, and broadening due to leakage through the junction barrier, which couples the bound states with the normal metal reservoir. We show that shot noise is highly sensitive to the mechanism of broadening, while the conductance is not. In the limit of small but finite intrinsic broadening, compared to the junction transparency $D$, $\eta/\Delta_0\ll D$, the low-voltage shot noise at zero frequency and zero temperature becomes proportional to the magnitude $\eta$ of intrinsic broadening ($\Delta_0$ is the maximum d-wave gap).Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; presented at the SDP2001 conference in Toky

Low-Temperature Thermal Conductivity of Superconductors With Gap Nodes

We report a detailed analytic and numerical study of electronic thermal conductivity in d-wave superconductors. We compare theory of the cross over at low temperatures from T-dependence to T^3-dependence for increasing temperature with recent experiments on YBCO in zero magnetic field for temperatures from 0.04K to 0.4K by Hill et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 027001 (2004). Transport theory, including impurity scattering and inelastic scattering within strong coupling superconductivity, can consistently fit the temperature dependence of the data in the lower half of the temperature regime. We discuss the conditions under which we expect power-law dependences over wide temperature intervals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Transport through vertical graphene contacts under intense laser fields

We theoretically study the electronic and transport properties of two graphene layers vertically coupled by an insulating layer under the influence of a time-periodic external light field. The non-adiabatic driving induces excitations of electrons and a redistribution of the occupied states which is manifested in the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum of graphene. When a voltage is applied between the top and bottom graphene layers, the photo-induced nonequilibrium occupation modifies the transport properties of the contact. We investigate the electronic and transport properties of the contact by using the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. To illustrate the behavior of the differential conductance of the vertical contact under the light illumination, we consider two cases. First, we assume that both the bottom and top layers consist of graphene and second we consider a finite mass term in the bottom layer. We obtain that the differential conductance is strongly suppressed due to the opening of gaps in the quasienergy spectrum in graphene. Additionally, the conductance shows features corresponding to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons at energies of the van Hove singularity for both the top and bottom layers. In the case of a finite mass term in the bottom layer, the differential conductance can be directly related to the tunneling of photoexcited electrons

Proximity Effect in Normal Metal - High Tc Superconductor Contacts

We study the proximity effect in good contacts between normal metals and high Tc (d-wave) superconductors. We present theoretical results for the spatially dependent order parameter and local density of states, including effects of impurity scattering in the two sides, s-wave pairing interaction in the normal metal side (attractive or repulsive), as well as subdominant s-wave paring in the superconductor side. For the [100] orientation, a real combination d+s of the order parameters is always found. The spectral signatures of the proximity effect in the normal metal includes a suppression of the low-energy density of states and a finite energy peak structure. These features are mainly due to the impurity self-energies, which dominate over the effects of induced pair potentials. For the [110] orientation, for moderate transparencies, induction of a d+is order parameter on the superconductor side, leads to a proximity induced is order parameter also in the normal metal. The spectral signatures of this type of proximity effect are potentially useful for probing time-reversal symmetry breaking at a [110] interface.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

0-pi Transitions in a Superconductor/Chiral Ferromagnet/Superconductor Junction induced by a Homogeneous Cycloidal Spiral

We study the pi phase in a superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson junction, with a ferromagnet showing a cycloidal spiral spin modulation with in-plane propagation vector. Our results reveal a high sensitivity of the junction to the spiral order and indicate the presence of 0-pi quantum phase transitions as function of the spiral wave vector. We find that the chiral magnetic order introduces chiral superconducting triplet pairs that strongly influence the physics in such Josephson junctions, with potential applications in nanoelectronics and spintronics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; the derivation part has been reorganized + added note and new references, published versio