arXiv subjects

Alfredo Levy Yeyati

Publications and source records attributed to Alfredo Levy Yeyati.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Non-Equilibrium Charge Dynamics in Majorana-Josephson Devices

We investigate the impact of introducing Majorana bound states, formed by a proximitized semiconducting nanowire in the topological regime, into a current biased capacitive Josephson junction, thereby adding delocalized states below the superconducting gap. We find that this qualitatively changes the charge dynamics of the system, diminishing the role of Bloch oscillations and causing single-particle tunnelling effects to dominate. We fully characterize the resulting charge dynamics and the associated voltage and current signals. Our work reveals a rich landscape of behaviours in both the static and time-varying driving modes. This can be directly attributed to the presence of Majorana bound states, which serve as a pathway for charge transport and enable non-equilibrium excitations of the Majorana-Josephson device.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Proximity induced time-reversal topological superconductivity in Bi2Se3 films without phase tuning

Many proposals to generate a time-reversal invariant topological superconducting phase are based on imposing a $π$ phase difference between the superconducting leads proximitizing a nanostructure. We show that this phase can be induced on a thin film of a topological insulator like Bi$_2$Se$_3$ in proximity to a single s-wave superconductor. In our analysis we take into account the parity degree of freedom of the electronic states which is not included in effective Dirac-like surface theories. We find that the topological phase can be reached when the induced interparity pairing dominates over the intraparity one. Application of an electric field perpendicular to the film extends the range of parameters where the topological phase occurs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Single Channel Josephson Effect in a High Transmission Atomic Contact

The Josephson effect in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is an excellent tool to probe the properties of the superconducting order parameter on a local scale through the Ambegaokar-Baratoff (AB) relation. Using single atomic contacts created by means of atom manipulation, we demonstrate that in the extreme case of a single transport channel through the atomic junction modifications of the current-phase relation lead to significant deviations from the linear AB formula relating the critical current to the involved gap parameters. Using the full current-phase relation for arbitrary channel transmission, we model the Josephson effect in the dynamical Coulomb blockade regime because the charging energy of the junction capacitance cannot be neglected. We find excellent agreement with the experimental data. Projecting the current-phase relation onto the charge transfer operator shows that at high transmission multiple Cooper pair tunneling may occur. These deviations become non-negligible in Josephson-STM, for example, when scanning across single adatoms.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Interaction-induced zero-energy pinning and quantum dot formation in Majorana nanowires

Majorana modes emerge in non-trivial topological phases at the edges of some specific materials, like proximitized semiconducting nanowires under a external magnetic field. Ideally, they are non-local states that are charge neutral superpositions of electrons and holes. However, in nanowires of realistic length their wave functions overlap and acquire a finite charge that, under certain circumstances, makes them susceptible to interactions, specifically with the image charges that arise in the electrostatic environment. Considering a realistic three-dimensional model of the dielectric surroundings, here we show that this interaction leads to a suppression of the Majorana oscillations predicted by simpler theoretical models, and to the formation of low-energy quantum dot states that interact with the Majorana modes. Both features are observed in recent experiments on the detection of Majoranas and could thus help to properly characterize them.

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arXiv2018

The influence of the Majorana non-locality on the supercurrent

We study the equilibrium Josephson current between an s-wave superconductor and a topological superconducting nanowire with Majorana bound states (MBS) at its ends. Within a low-energy model we show analytically that the non-locality of the MBS allows for a finite supercurrent to flow that otherwise would vanish. In particular, we find the critical current to be a function of the difference in the spin canting angles of the Majorana wave functions at the location of the tunnel contact. We complement our analytical calculations by numerically solving the full tight binding model and show how to extract the main features of the low-energy model from the critical current using available experimental techniques.

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arXiv2018

Subgap states in two dimensional spectroscopy of unconventional superconductors using graphene

The two-dimensional nature of graphene makes it an ideal platform to explore proximity-induced unconventional planar superconductivity and the possibility of topological superconductivity. Using Green's functions techniques, we study the transport properties of a finite size ballistic graphene layer placed between a normal state electrode and a graphene lead with proximity-induced unconventional superconductivity. Our microscopic description of such a junction allows us to consider the effect of edge states in the graphene layer and the imperfect coupling to the electrodes. The tunnel conductance through the junction and the spectral density of states feature a rich interplay between graphene's edge states, interface bound states formed at the graphene-superconductor junction, Fabry-Pérot resonances originated from the finite size of the graphene layer, and the characteristic Andreev surface states of unconventional superconductors. Within our analytical formalism, we identify the separate contribution from each of these subgap states to the conductance and density of states. Our results show that graphene provides an advisable tool to determine experimentally the pairing symmetry of proximity-induced unconventional superconductivity.

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arXiv2017

Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires

Majorana zero modes at the boundaries of topological superconductors are charge-neutral, an equal superposition of electrons and holes. This ideal situation is, however, hard to achieve in physical implementations, such as proximitised semiconducting nanowires of realistic length. In such systems Majorana overlaps are unavoidable and lead to their hybridisation into charged Bogoliubov quasiparticles of finite energy which, unlike true zero modes, are affected by electronic interactions. We here demonstrate that these interactions, particularly with bound charges in the dielectric surroundings, drastically change the non-interacting paradigm. Remarkably, interactions may completely suppress Majorana hybridisation around parity crossings, where the total charge in the nanowire changes. This effect, dubbed zero-energy pinning, stabilises Majoranas back to zero energy and charge, and leads to electronically incompressible parameter regions wherein Majoranas remain insensitive to local perturbations, despite their overlap.

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arXiv2016

Analysis of universality in transient dynamics of coherent electronic transport

We analyze the time-dependent full-counting statistics of charges transmitted through a quantum dot in the coherent regime. The generating function for the time-dependent charge transfer statistics is evaluated numerically by discretizing the Keldysh time contour, which allows us to compute the higher order charge and current cumulants. We also develop an analytic expression for all order cumulants at any time given as a function of the zeros of the generating function, finding that the short time universality is due to the presence of a dominant single zero. The robustness of the universal features at short times is studied in both the sequential and coherent regimes.

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arXiv2016

Quantum interference in a Cooper pair splitter: The three sites model

New generation of Cooper pair splitters defined on hybrid nanostructures are devices with high tunable coupling parameters. Transport measurements through these devices revealed clear signatures of interference effects and motivated us to introduce a new model, called the 3-sites model. These devices provide an ideal playground to tune the Cooper pair splitting (CPS) efficency on demand, and displays a rich variety of physical phenomena. In the present work we analyze theoretically the conductance of the 3-sites model in the linear and non-linear regimes and characterize the most representative features that arise by the interplay of the different model parameters. In the linear regime we find that the local processes typically exhibit Fano-shape resonances, while the CPS contribution exhibits Lorentzian-shapes. Remarkably, we find that under certain conditions, the transport is blocked by the presence of a dark state. In the non-linear regime we established a hierarchy of the model parameters to obtain the conditions for optimal efficency.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Transport in Selectively Magnetically Doped Topological Insulator Wires

We study the electronic and transport properties of a topological insulator nanowire including selective magnetic doping of its surfaces. We use a model which is appropriate to describe materials like Bi$_2$Se$_3$ within a k.p approximation and consider nanowires with a rectangular geometry. Within this model the magnetic doping at the (111) surfaces induces a Zeeman field which opens a gap at the Dirac cones corresponding to the surface states. For obtaining the transport properties in a two terminal configuration we use a recursive Green function method based on a tight-binding model which is obtained by discretizing the original continuous model. For the case of uniform magnetization of two opposite nanowire (111) surfaces we show that the conductance can switch from a quantized value of $e^2/h$ (when the magnetizations are equal) to a very small value (when they are opposite). We also analyze the case of non-uniform magnetizations in which the Zeeman field on the two opposite surfaces change sign at the middle of the wire. For this case we find that conduction by resonant tunneling through a chiral state bound at the middle of the wire is possible. The resonant level position can be tuned by imposing an Aharonov-Bohm flux through the nanowire cross section.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Detection of spin entanglement via spin-charge separation in crossed Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids

We investigate tunneling between two spinful Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids (TLLs) realized, e.g., as two crossed nanowires or quantum Hall edge states. When injecting into each TLL one electron of opposite spin, the dc current measured after the crossing differs for singlet, triplet, or product states. This is a striking new non-Fermi liquid feature because the (mean) current in a noninteracting beam splitter is insensitive to spin entanglement. It can be understood in terms of collective excitations subject to spin-charge separation. This behavior may offer an easier alternative to traditional entanglement detection schemes based on current noise, which we show to be suppressed by the interactions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Spin filtering and entanglement detection due to spin-orbit interaction in carbon nanotube cross-junctions

We demonstrate that due to their spin-orbit interaction carbon nanotube cross-junctions have attractive spin projective properties for transport. First, we show that the junction can be used as a versatile spin filter as a function of a backgate and a static external magnetic field. Switching between opposite spin filter directions can be achieved by small changes of the backgate potential, and a full polarization is generically obtained in an energy range close to the Dirac points. Second, we discuss how the spin filtering properties affect the noise correlators of entangled electron pairs, which allows us to obtain signatures of the type of entanglement that are different from the signatures in conventional semiconductor cross-junctions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Entanglement detection from conductance measurements in carbon nanotube Cooper pair splitters

Spin-orbit interaction provides a spin filtering effect in carbon nanotube based Cooper pair splitters that allows us to determine spin correlators directly from current measurements. The spin filtering axes are tunable by a global external magnetic field. By a bending of the nanotube the filtering axes on both sides of the Cooper pair splitter become sufficiently different that a test of entanglement of the injected Cooper pairs through the Bell inequality can be implemented. This implementation does not require noise measurements, supports imperfect splitting efficiency and disorder, and does not demand a full knowledge of the spin-orbit strength. Using a microscopic calculation we demonstrate that entanglement detection by violation of the Bell inequality is within the reach of current experimental setups.

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arXiv2013

Long transient dynamics in the Anderson-Holstein model out of equilibrium

We calculate the time dependent nonequilibrium current through a single level quantum dot strongly coupled to a vibrational mode. The nonequilibrium real time dynamics caused by an instantaneous coupling of the leads to the quantum dot is discussed using an approximate method. The approach, which is specially designed for the strong polaronic regime, is based on the so-called polaron tunneling approximation. Considering different initial dot occupations, we show that a common steady state is reached after times much larger than the typical electron tunneling times due to a polaron blocking effect in the dot charge. A direct comparison is made with numerically exact data, showing good agreement for the time scales accessible by the diagrammatic Monte Carlo simulation method.

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arXiv2012

Subradiant split Cooper pairs

We suggest a way to characterize the coherence of the split Cooper pairs emitted by a double-quantum-dot based Cooper pair splitter (CPS), by studying the radiative response of such a CPS inside a microwave cavity. The coherence of the split pairs manifests in a strongly nonmonotonic variation of the emitted radiation as a function of the parameters controlling the coupling of the CPS to the cavity. The idea to probe the coherence of the electronic states using the tools of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics could be generalized to many other nanoscale circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Non adiabatic features of electron pumping through a quantum dot in the Kondo regime

We investigate the behavior of the dc electronic current, Jdc, in an interacting quantum dot driven by two ac local potentials oscillating with a frequency, Omega0, and a phase-lag, phi. We provide analytical functions to describe the fingerprints of the Coulomb interaction in an experimental Jdc vs phi characteristic curve. We show that the Kondo resonance reduces at low temperatures the frequency range for the linear behavior of Jdc in Omega0 to take place and determines the evolution of the dc-current as the temperature increases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Quantum properties of atomic-sized conductors

Using remarkably simple experimental techniques it is possible to gently break a metallic contact and thus form conducting nanowires. During the last stages of the pulling a neck-shaped wire connects the two electrodes, the diameter of which is reduced to single atom upon further stretching. For some metals it is even possible to form a chain of individual atoms in this fashion. Although the atomic structure of contacts can be quite complicated, as soon as the weakest point is reduced to just a single atom the complexity is removed. The properties of the contact are then dominantly determined by the nature of this atom. This has allowed for quantitative comparison of theory and experiment for many properties, and atomic contacts have proven to form a rich test-bed for concepts from mesoscopic physics. Properties investigated include multiple Andreev reflection, shot noise, conductance quantization, conductance fluctuations, and dynamical Coulomb blockade. In addition, pronounced quantum effects show up in the mechanical properties of the contacts, as seen in the force and cohesion energy of the nanowires. We review this reseach, which has been performed mainly during the past decade, and we discuss the results in the context of related developments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2001

Electron correlation effects and ferromagnetism in Iron

Electron correlation effects in Fe are analyzed using a first principles LCAO-scheme. In our approach, we first use a local orbital DFT-LDA solution to introduce a Hubbard Hamiltonian without fitting parameters. In a second step, we introduce a many-body solution to this Hamiltonian using a DMF approximation. Our analysis shows that magnetism in Fe is an effect associated with the first atomic Hund's rule. Moreover, we also find important correlation effects in the Fe-spin polarized DOS. The photoemision spectra is explained using a value of U_eff as large as 4 eV, provided the satellite peaks appearing around 3-5 eV below the Fermi energy are interpreted appropriately.

cond-mat.str-el↗