Title
Odd-frequency superconducting pairing in junctions with Rashba spin-orbit coupling
Date Issued
23 August 2018
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Black-Schaffer A.
Uppsala University
Publisher(s)
American Physical Society
Abstract
We consider normal-superconductor (NS) and superconductor-normal-superconductor (SNS) junctions based on one-dimensional nanowires with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and proximity-induced s-wave spin-singlet superconductivity and analytically demonstrate how both even- and odd-frequency and spin-singlet and -triplet superconducting pair correlations are always present. In particular, by using a fully quantum mechanical scattering approach, we show that Andreev reflection induces mixing of spatial parities at interfaces, thus being the unique process which generates odd-frequency pairing; on the other hand, both Andreev and normal reflections contribute to even-frequency pairing. We further find that locally neither odd-frequency nor spin-triplet correlations are induced, but only even-frequency spin-singlet pairing. In the superconducting regions of NS junctions, the interface-induced amplitudes decay into the bulk, with the odd-frequency components being generally much larger than the even-frequency components at low frequencies. The odd-frequency pairing also develops short- and long-period oscillations due to the chemical potential and spin-orbit coupling, respectively, leading to a visible beating feature in their magnitudes. Moreover, we find that in short SNS junctions at π-phase difference and strong spin-orbit coupling, the odd-frequency spin-singlet and -triplet correlations strongly dominate with an alternating spatial pattern for a large range of subgap frequencies.
Volume
98
Issue
7
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Astronomía
Física de partículas, Campos de la Física
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85052783780
Source
Physical Review B
ISSN of the container
24699950
Sponsor(s)
We thank A. V. Balatsky, A. Bouhon, and C. Reeg for interesting discussions and C. Triola for helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was made possible by support from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, Grant No. 621-2014-3721), the Göran Gustafsson Foundation, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows program, and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant No. ERC-2017-StG-757553).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus