arXiv subjects

A. S. Vasenko

Publications and source records attributed to A. S. Vasenko.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hybrid magnon -- Nambu-Goldstone excitations in topological superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator thin-film heterostructures

We address a previously unexplored type of dynamical proximity effect that occurs in s-wave topological superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator (TS/FI) heterostructures. It is predicted that magnons in the FI and the Nambu-Goldstone (NG) collective superconducting phase mode in the TS are coupled, forming composite magnon-NG excitations. The mechanism of this coupling is associated with the complete spin-momentum locking of electrons in the helical surface state of the TS. The strength of the magnon-NG coupling is strongly anisotropic with respect to the mutual orientation of the magnon wave vector and the equilibrium magnetization of the FI. This effect provides a mechanism for the interconversion of spin signals and the spinless signals carried by collective superconducting excitations, thereby giving new impetus to the development of superconducting spintronics.

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arXiv2026

Hybrid collective excitations in topological superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator heterostructures

We develop a linear response theory for the dynamical proximity effect in topological superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator (TS/FI) hybrids. Our approach integrates the nonequilibrium quasiclassical Keldysh-Usadel formalism for the TS with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for the FI's magnetization dynamics. This framework reveals a proximity-induced coupling between magnons and superconducting collective modes. Crucially, we find that spin-momentum locking in the TS surface state drives a hybridization between magnons and the superconducting Nambu-Goldstone (phase) mode, giving rise to composite magnon-Nambu-Goldstone excitations. We analyze the coupling strength's dependence on key parameters both analytically and numerically. In contrast, we demonstrate that the Higgs (amplitude) mode does not couple to magnons at linear order and is thus excluded from the hybrid excitation spectrum. The hybridization between magnons and the superconducting phase mode provides a mechanism for the interconversion of spin signals and the spinless signals carried by collective superconducting excitations, thereby giving new impetus to the development of superconducting spintronics.

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arXiv2026

The physics of superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid structures

In this review, we summarize the foundations underlying a variety of phenomena in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid structures, with a focus on recent advances in several key areas. These include: (i) the fundamental understanding of proximity effects in superconductor-ferromagnet based systems; (ii) spin-valve effects in superconductor-ferromagnet and superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson junctions; and (iii) the design and realization of superconducting memory elements, particularly in hybrid Josephson junctions. We also discuss the experimental progress in fabricating and characterizing spin-valve structures.

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arXiv2025

Competitive helical bands and highly efficient diode effect in F/S/TI/S/F hybrid structures

The diode effect in superconducting materials has been actively investigated in recent years. Plenty of different devices have been proposed as a platform to observe the superconducting diode effect. In this work we discuss the possibility of a highly efficient superconducting diode design with controllable polarity. We propose the mesoscopic device that consists of two separated superconducting islands with proximity induced ferromagnetism deposited on top of the three-dimensional topological insulator. Using the quasiclassical formalism of the Usadel equations we demonstrate that the sign of the diode efficiency can be controlled by magnetization tuning of a single superconducting island. Moreover, we show that the diode efficiency can be substantially increased in such device. We argue that the dramatic increase of the diode efficiency is due to competing contribution of the two superconducting islands to the supercurrent with single helical bands linked through the topological insulator surface.

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arXiv2023

Phase diagrams of the superconducting diode effect in topological hybrid structures

Recently the superconducting diode effect (SDE) has attracted a lot of attention due to new possibilities in the field of superconducting electronics. One of the possible realizations of the SDE is the implementation in superconducting hybrid structures. In this case the SDE is achieved by means of the proximity effect. However, the optimal conditions for the SDE quality factor in hybrid devices remain unclear. In this study we consider the Superconductor/Ferromagnet/Topological insulator (S/F/TI) hybrid device and investigate the diode quality factor at different parameters of the hybrid structure. Consequently, we reveal important parameters that have crucial impact on the magnitude of the SDE quality factor.

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arXiv2022

Hybrid helical state and superconducting diode effect in S/F/TI heterostructures

It is well-known that the ground state of homogeneous superconducting systems with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the presence of the Zeeman field is the so-called helical state, which is characterized by the phase modulation of the order parameter, but zero supercurrent density. In this work we investigate the realization of the helical state in a hybrid system with spatially separated superconductivity and exchange field by considering S/F bilayer on top of a 3D topological insulator. This system is characterized by strong spin-momentum locking and, consequently, provides the most favorable conditions for the helical state generation. The analysis is based on the microscopic theory in terms of the quasiclassical Green's functions. We demonstrate that in the bilayer the helical state survives if the exchange field has non-zero component perpendicular to the S/F interface even in spite of the fact that the superconducting order parameter and the exchange field are spatially separated. At the same time, in this spatially inhomogeneous situation the helical state is accompanied by the spontaneous currents distributed over the bilayer in such a way as to have zero average. Further, we show that this hybrid helical state gives rise to nonreciprocity in the system. We demonstrate the realization of the superconducting diode effect and show that the degree of nonreciprocity is very large in the considered system due to the strongest possible value of the spin-momentum locking.

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arXiv2022

Comparing energy dissipation mechanisms within the vortex dynamics of gap and gapless nano-sized superconductors

The presence of magnetic fields and/or transport currents can cause penetration of vortices in superconductors. Their motion leads to dissipation and resistive state arises, which in turn strongly affects the performance of superconducting devices such as single-photon and single-electron detectors. Therefore, an understanding of the dissipation mechanisms in mesoscopic superconductors is not only of fundamental value but also very important for further technological advances. In the present work, we analyzed the contributions and interplay of the dissipative mechanisms due to the locally induced electric field and an intrinsic relaxation of the superconducting order parameter, $Ψ$, in mesoscopic samples by using the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. Although often neglected, we show that the dissipated energy due to relaxation of $Ψ$ must be taken into account for an adequate description of the total dissipated energy. The local increase of the temperature due to vortex motion and its diffusion in the sample were also analyzed, where the joint effect of thermal relaxation and vortex dynamics plays an important role for the dissipative properties presented by the superconducting systems.

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arXiv2022

Suppression of fluctuations in a two-band superconductor with a quasi-1D band

Chain-like structured superconductive materials (such as A_2Cr_3As_3, with A = K, Rb, Cs) exhibit the multiband electronic structure of single-particle states, where coexisting quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) and conventional higher-dimensional energy bands take part in the creation of the aggregate superconducting condensate. When the chemical potential approaches the edge of a Q1D band in a single-band superconductor, the corresponding mean-field critical temperature increases significantly but the superconductivity is quenched by fluctuations. However, recent investigation has revealed that when a Q1D band is coupled to a higher dimensional one by the interband Cooper-pair transfer, the thermal superconductive fluctuations can be suppressed so that the resulting critical temperature can be close to its mean-field value. In the present work, we calculate the mean-field T_c0 and fluctuation-shifted T_c critical temperatures for a two-band superconductor where a Q1D band coexists with a higher-dimensional band, and investigate how the thermal fluctuations are sensitive to the system parameters. We find that T_c is close to T_c0 in a wide range of microscopic parameters, and even the dimensionality of the higher-dimensional band does not play an essential role. Thus, the screening mechanism for suppressing fluctuations via the pair-exchange coupling between the bands is indeed relevant for a large class of Q1D multiband superconducting materials, encouraging further experiments aimed at reaching larger critical temperatures in such multiband superconductors.

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arXiv2021

Multiband mechanism of the pair fluctuation screening

Recent chain-like structured materials have shown a robust superconducting phase. These materials exhibit the presence of quasi-one-dimensional bands (q1D) coupled to conventional higher-dimensional bands. On the mean-field level such systems have a high critical temperature when the chemical potential is close to the edge of a q1D band and the related Lifshitz transition is approached. However, the impact of the pair fluctuations compromises the mean-field results. Recently it has been demonstrated that these fluctuations can be suppressed (screened) by a specific multiband mechanism based on the pair-exchange coupling of the q1D condensate to a stable higher-dimensional one. In the present work we demonstrate that strikingly enough, this mechanism is not very sensitive to the basic parameters of the stable condensate such as its strength and dimensionality. For example, even the presence of a passive higher-dimensional band, which does not exhibit any superconducting correlations when taken as a separate superconductor, results in suppression of the pair fluctuations.

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arXiv2020

Reentrant superconductivity in proximity to a topological insulator

In the following paper we investigate the critical temperature $T_c$ behavior in the two-dimensional S/TI (S denotes superconductor and TI - topological insulator) junction with a proximity induced in-plane helical magnetization in the TI surface. The calculations of $T_c$ are performed using the general self-consistent approach based on the Usadel equations in Matsubara Green's functions technique. We show that the presence of the helical magnetization leads to the nonmonotonic behavior of the critical temperature as a function of the topological insulator layer thickness.

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arXiv2020

Quasi-one-dimensional system as a high-temperature superconductor

It is well-known that quasi-one-dimensional superconductors suffer from the pairing fluctuations that significantly reduce the superconducting temperature or even completely suppress any coherent behavior. Here we demonstrate that a coupling to a robust pair condensate changes the situation dramatically. In this case the quasi-one-dimensional system can be a high temperature superconductor governed by the proximity to the Lifshitz transition at which the Fermi level approaches the lower edge of the single-particle spectrum.

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arXiv2020

Anomalous current-voltage characteristics of SFIFS Josephson junctions with weak ferromagnetic interlayers

We present a quantitative study of the current-voltage characteristics (CVC) of SFIFS Josephson junctions (S denotes bulk superconductor, F - metallic ferromagnet, I - insulating barrier) with weak ferromagnetic interlayers in the diffusive limit. The problem is solved in the framework of the nonlinear Usadel equations. We consider the case of a strong tunnel barrier such that the left SF and the right FS bilayers are decoupled. We calculate the density of states (DOS) in SF bilayers using a self-consistent numerical method. Then we obtain the CVC of corresponding SFIFS junctions, and discuss their properties for different set of parameters including the thicknesses of ferromagnetic layers, the exchange field, and the magnetic scattering time. We observe the anomalous nonmonotonic CVC behavior in case of weak ferromagnetic interlayers, which we ascribe by DOS energy dependencies in case of small exchange fields in F layers.

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arXiv2019

Vortex interaction in thin films -- a crossover from type I to type II superconductivity

Interactions between vortices in thin superconducting films are investigated in the crossover (intertype) regime between superconductivity types I and II. We consider two main factors responsible for this crossover: a) changes in the material characteristics of the film and b) variations of the film thickness controlling the effect of the stray magnetic fields outside superconducting sample. The analysis is done within the formalism that combines the perturbation expansion of the microscopic equations to one order beyond the Ginzburg-Landau theory with the leading contribution of the stray fields. It is shown that the latter gives rise to qualitatively different spatial profile and temperature dependence of the vortex interaction potential, as compared to bulk vortex interactions. The resulting interaction is long-range repulsive while exhibiting complex competition of attraction and repulsion at small and intermediate separations of vortices. This explains the appearance of vortex chains reported earlier for superconducting films.

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arXiv2019

Competitive 0 and π states in S/F multilayers: multimode approach

We have investigated the critical temperature behavior in periodic superconductor/ ferromagnet (S/F) multilayers as a function of the ferromagnetic layer thickness $d_f$ and the interface transparency. The critical temperature $T_c(d_f)$ exhibits a damped oscillatory behavior in these systems due to an exchange field in the ferromagnetic material. In this work we have performed $T_c$ calculations using the self-consistent multimode approach, which is considered to be exact solving method. Using this approach we have derived the conditions of 0 or $π$ state realization in periodic S/F multilayers. Moreover, we have presented the comparison between the single-mode and multimode approaches and established the limits of applicability of the single-mode approximation, frequently used by experimentalists.

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arXiv2019

Spontaneous Pattern Formation in Intertype Superconducting Films

Thin superconducting films are usually regarded as type II superconductors even when they are made of a type I material. The reason is a strong contribution of the stray magnetic field that stabilizes vortices. While very thin films indeed reach this limit, there is a large interval of film thicknesses where the magnetic properties cannot be classified as either of the two conventional superconductivity types. Recent calculations revealed that in this interval the system exhibits spontaneous formation of complex condensate-field patterns that are very sensitive to system parameters, in particular, the temperature and the applied magnetic field. The corresponding superconducting magnetic properties can be attributed to a special regime of the intertype superconductivity whose physical origin lies in the removal of an infinite degeneracy of the self-dual superconducting state at the critical Bogomolnyi point. Here we demonstrate that qualitative characteristics of the intertype superstructures in thin superconducting films are independent of the choice of the in-plane boundary conditions for the order parameter and the magnetic field.

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arXiv2018

Relaxation of Nonequilibrium Quasiparticles in Mesoscopic Size Superconductors

Rapid development of micro- and nanofabrication methods have provoked interest and enabled experimental studies of electronic properties of a vast class of (sub)micrometer-size solid state systems. Mesoscopic-size hybrid structures, containing superconducting elements, have become interesting objects for basic research studies and various applications, ranging from medical and astrophysical sensors to quantum computing. One of the most important aspects of physics, governing the behavior of such systems, is the finite concentration of nonequilibrium quasiparticles, present in a superconductor even well below the temperature of superconducting transition. Those nonequilibrium excitations might limit the performance of a variety of superconducting devices, like superconducting qubits, single-electron turnstiles and microrefrigerators. On the contrary, in some applications, like detectors of electromagnetic radiation, the nonequilibrium state is essential for their operation. It is therefore of vital importance to study the mechanisms of nonequilibrium quasiparticle relaxation in superconductors of mesoscopic dimensions, where the whole structure can be considered as an `interface'. At early stages of research the problem was mostly studied in relatively massive systems and at high temperatures close to the critical temperature of a superconductor. We review the recent progress in studies of nonequilibrium quasiparticle relaxation in superconductors including the low temperature limit. We also discuss the open physical questions and perspectives of development in the field.

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arXiv2018

Magnetic and Superconducting Phase Diagram of Nb/Gd/Nb trilayers

We report on a study of the structural, magnetic and superconducting properties of Nb(25nm)/Gd($d_f$)/Nb(25nm) hybrid structures of a superconductor/ ferromagnet (S/F) type. The structural characterization of the samples, including careful determination of the layer thickness, was performed using neutron and X-ray scattering with the aid of depth sensitive mass-spectrometry. The magnetization of the samples was determined by SQUID magnetometry and polarized neutron reflectometry and the presence of magnetic ordering for all samples down to the thinnest Gd(0.8nm) layer was shown. The analysis of the neutron spin asymmetry allowed us to prove the absence of magnetically dead layers in junctions with Gd interlayer thickness larger than one monolayer. The measured dependence of the superconducting transition temperature $T_c(d_f)$ has a damped oscillatory behavior with well defined positions of the minimum at $d_f$=3nm and the following maximum at $d_f$=4nm; the behavior, which is in qualitative agreement with the prior work (J.S. Jiang et al, PRB 54, 6119). The analysis of the $T_c(d_f)$ dependence based on Usadel equations showed that the observed minimum at $d_f$=3nm can be described by the so called "$0$" to "$π$" phase transition of highly transparent S/F interfaces with the superconducting correlation length $ξ_f \approx 4$nm in Gd. This penetration length is several times higher than for strong ferromagnets like Fe, Co or Ni, simplifying thus preparation of S/F structures with $d_f \sim ξ_f$ which are of topical interest in superconducting spintronics.

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arXiv2017

Odd-frequency superconductivity induced in topological insulators with and without hexagonal warping

We study the effect of the Fermi surface anisotropy on the odd-frequency spin-triplet pairing component of the induced pair potential. We consider a superconductor/ ferromagnetic insulator (S/FI) hybrid structure formed on the 3D topological insulator (TI) surface. In this case three ingredients insure the possibility of the odd-frequency pairing: 1) the topological surface states, 2) the induced pair potential, and 3) the magnetic moment of a nearby ferromagnetic insulator. We take into account the strong anisotropy of the Dirac cone in topological insulators when the chemical potential lies well above the Dirac cone and its constant energy contour has a snowflake shape. Within this model, we propose that the S/FI boundary should be properly aligned with respect to the snowflake constant energy contour to have an odd-frequency symmetry of the corresponding pairing component and to insure the Majorana bound state at the S/FI boundary. For arbitrary orientation of the boundary the Majorana bound state is absent. This provides a selection rule to the realization of Majorana modes in S/FI hybrid structures, formed on the topological insulator surface.

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