Stimulated quasiparticles in spin-split superconductors

Abstract

In superconductors spin-split by an exchange field, thermal effects are coupled to spin transport. We show how an oscillating electromagnetic field in such systems creates spin imbalance, that can be detected with a spin-polarized probe. The sign and magnitude of the probe signal result from a competition between processes converting field induced spin energy imbalance to spin imbalance, dominant at low frequencies, and microwave-driven pair breaking at high frequencies. In the presence of spin-flip scattering, we show that ac excitation also leads to multistabilities in the superconducting state.