arXiv subjects

Annica M. Black-Schaffer

Publications and source records attributed to Annica M. Black-Schaffer.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Andreev spectrum and supercurrents in nanowire-based SNS junctions containing Majorana bound states

Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowires with Rashba spin-orbit coupling are arguably becoming the leading platform for the search of Majorana bound states (MBSs) in engineered topological superconductors. We perform a systematic numerical study of the low-energy Andreev spectrum and supercurrents in short and long superconductor-normal-superconductor junctions made of nanowires with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling, where an external Zeeman field is applied perpendicular to the spin-orbit axis. In particular, we investigate the detailed evolution of the Andreev bound states from the trivial into the topological phase and their relation with the emergence of MBSs. Due to finite length, the system hosts four MBSs, two at the inner part of the junction and two at the outer one. They hybridize and give rise to a finite energy splitting at superconducting phase difference $ϕ=π$, a well-visible effect that can be traced back to the evolution of the energy spectrum with the Zeeman field: from the trivial phase with Andreev bound states into the topological phase with MBSs. Similarly, we carry out a detailed study of supercurrents for short and long junctions from the trivial to the topological phases. The supercurrent, calculated from the Andreev spectrum, is $2π$-periodic in the trivial and topological phases. In the latter it exhibits a clear \emph{sawtooth} profile at phase difference of $π$ when the energy splitting is negligible, signalling a strong dependence of current-phase curves on the length of the superconducting regions. Effects of temperature, scalar disorder and reduction of normal transmission on supercurrents are also discussed. Further, we identify the individual contribution of MBSs. In short junctions the MBSs determine the current-phase curves, while in long junctions the spectrum above the gap (quasi-continuum) introduces an important contribution.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Odd-frequency pairing and Kerr effect in the heavy-fermion superconductor UPt$_3$

We study the emergence of odd-frequency superconducting pairing in UPt$_3$. Starting from a tight-binding model accounting for the nonsymmorphic crystal symmetry of UPt$_3$ and assuming an order parameter in the $E_{2u}$ representation, we demonstrate that odd-frequency pairing arises very generally, as soon as inter-sublattice hopping or spin-orbit coupling is present. We also show that in the low temperature superconducting $B$ phase, the presence of a chiral order parameter together with spin-orbit coupling, leads to additional odd-frequency pair amplitudes not present in the $A$ or $C$ phases. Furthermore, we show that a finite Kerr rotation in the $B$ phase is only present if odd-$ω$ pairing also exists.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Tuning Majorana zero modes with temperature in $π$-phase Josephson junctions

We study a superconductor-normal state-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junction along the edge of a quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI) with a superconducting $π$-phase across the junction. We solve self-consistently for the superconducting order parameter and find both real junctions, where the order parameter is fully real throughout the system, and junctions where the order parameter has a complex phase winding. Real junctions host two Majorana zero modes (MZMs), while phase-winding junctions have no subgap states close to zero energy. At zero temperature we find that the phase-winding solution always has the lowest free energy, which we establish being due to a strong proximity-effect into the N region. With increasing temperature this proximity-effect is dramatically decreased and we find a phase transition into a real junction with two MZMs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Topological nodal superconducting phases and topological phase transition in the hyperhoneycomb lattice

We establish the topology of the spin-singlet superconducting states in the bare hyperhoneycomb lattice and derive analytically the full phase diagram using only symmetry and topology in combination with simple energy arguments. The phase diagram is dominated by two states preserving time-reversal symmetry. We find that the line-nodal state dominating at low doping levels is topologically nontrivial and exhibits surface Majorana flat bands, which we show perfectly match the bulk-boundary correspondence using Berry phase approach. At higher doping levels we find a fully gapped state with trivial topology. By analytically calculating the topological invariant of the line nodes, we derive the critical point between the line-nodal and fully gapped states as a function of both pairing parameters and doping. We find that the line-nodal state is favored not only at lower doping levels but also if symmetry-allowed deformations of the lattice is present. Adding simple energy arguments we establish that a fully gapped state with broken time-reversal symmetry likely appears covering the actual phase transition. We find this time-reversal symmetry broken state to be topologically trivial, while we find an additional point nodal state at very low doping levels to have nontrivial topology with associated Fermi surface arcs. We eventually address the robustness of the phase diagram to generalized models also including adiabatic spin-orbit coupling, and show how all but the point nodal state are reasonably stable.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Highly tunable time-reversal-invariant topological superconductivity in topological insulator thin films

We study time-reversal-invariant topological superconductivity in topological insulator (TI) thin films including both intra- and inter-surface pairing. We find a nontrivial topology for multiple different configurations. For intra-surface pairing a $π$-phase difference between the intra-surface pairing states is required. We show that in this case the resulting topological phase is highly tunable by both an applied electric field and varied chemical potential. For spin-singlet inter-surface pairing, a sign-changing tunnel coupling present in many TI thin films is needed, and again, the topology can be tuned by electric field or doping. Notably, we find that the required inter-surface pairing strength for achieving nontrivial topology can still be subdominant compared to the intra-surface pairing. Finally, for spin-triplet inter-surface pairing we prove that the superconducting state is always topological nontrivial. We show that thin films of Cu-doped Bi$_2$Se$_3$ will likely host such spin-triplet inter-surface pairing. Taken together, these results show that time-reversal-invariant topological superconductivity is common in superconducting TI thin films and that the topological phase and its Kramers pair of Majorana edge modes is highly tunable with an applied electric field and varied chemical potential.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Multiple odd-frequency superconducting states in buckled quantum spin Hall insulators with time-reversal symmetry

We consider a buckled quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI), such as silicene, proximity-coupled to a conventional spin-singlet, s-wave superconductor. Even limiting the discussion to the disorder-robust s-wave pairing symmetry, we find both odd-frequency ($ω$), spin-singlet and spin-triplet pair amplitudes and where both preserve time-reversal symmetry. Our results show that there are two unrelated mechanisms generating these different odd-$ω$ pair amplitudes. The spin-singlet state is due to the strong inter-orbital processes present in the QSHI. It is exists generically at the edges of the QSHI, but also in the bulk in heavily doped regime if an electric field is applied. The spin-triplet state requires a finite gradient in the proximity-induced superconducting order along the edge, which we find is automatically generated at the atomic scale for armchair edges but not at zigzag edges. In combination these results make superconducting QSHIs a very exciting venue for investigating not only the existence of odd-$ω$ superconductivity, but also the interplay between different odd-$ω$ states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Topological superconductivity in the extended Kitaev-Heisenberg model

We study superconducting pairing in the doped Kitaev-Heisenberg model by taking into account the recently proposed symmetric off-diagonal exchange $Γ$. By performing a mean-field analysis, we classify all possible superconducting phases in terms of symmetry, explicitly taking into account effects of spin-orbit coupling. Solving the resulting gap equations self-consistently, we map out a phase diagram that involves several topologically nontrivial states. For $Γ<0$, we find a competition between a time-reversal symmetry breaking chiral phase with Chern number $\pm1$ and a time-reversal symmetric nematic phase that breaks the rotational symmetry of the lattice. On the other hand, for $Γ\geq 0$ we find a time-reversal symmetric phase that preserves all the lattice symmetries, thus yielding clearly distinguishable experimental signatures for all superconducting phases. Both of the time-reversal symmetric phases display a transition to a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ non-trivial phase at high doping levels. Finally, we also include a symmetry-allowed spin-orbit coupling kinetic energy and show that it destroys a tentative symmetry protected topological order at lower doping levels. However, it can be used to tune the time-reversal symmetric phases into a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ non-trivial phase even at lower doping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Bulk topology of line-nodal structures protected by space group symmetries in class AI

We give an exhaustive characterization of the topology of band structures in class AI, using nonsymmorphic space group 33 ($Pna2_1$) as a representative example where a great variety of symmetry protected line-nodal structures can be formed. We start with the topological classification of all line-nodal structures given through the combinatorics of valence irreducible representations (IRREPs) at a few high-symmetry points (HSPs) at a fixed filling. We decompose the total topology of nodal valence band bundles through the local topology of elementary (i.e. inseparable) nodal structures and the global topology that constrains distinct elementary nodal elements over the Brillouin zone (BZ). Generalizing from the cases of simple point nodes and simple nodal lines (NLs), we argue that the local topology of every elementary nodal structure is characterized by a set of poloidal-toroidal charges, one monopole, and one thread charge (when threading the BZ torus), while the global topology only allows pairs of nontrivial monopole and thread charges. We show that all these charges are given in terms of symmetry protected topological invariants, defined through quantized Wilson loop phases over symmetry constrained momentum loops, which we derive entirely algebraically from the valence IRREPs at the HSPs. In particular, we find highly connected line-nodal structures, line-nodal monopole pairs, and line-nodal thread pairs, that are all protected by the unitary crystalline symmetries only. Furthermore, we show symmetry preserving topological Lifshitz transitions through which independent NLs can be connected, disconnected, or linked. Our work constitutes a heuristic approach to the systematic topological classification and characterization of all momentum space line-nodal structures protected by space group symmetries in class AI.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Odd-frequency superconducting pairing and subgap density of states at the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator without magnetism

We investigate the emergence and consequences of odd-frequency spin-triplet s-wave pairing in superconducting hybrid junctions at the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator without any magnetism. More specifically, we consider several different normal-superconductor hybrid systems at the topological insulator edge, where spin-singlet s-wave superconducting pairing is proximity-induced from an external conventional superconductor. We perform fully analytical calculations and show that odd-frequency mixed spin-triplet s-wave pairing arises due to the unique spin-momentum locking in the topological insulator edge state and the naturally non-constant pairing potential profile in hybrid systems. Importantly, we establish a one-to-one correspondence between the local density of states (LDOS) at low energies and the odd-frequency spin-triplet pairing in NS, NSN and SNS junctions along the topological insulator edge; at interfaces the enhancement in the LDOS can directly be attributed to the contribution of odd-frequency pairing. Furthermore, in SNS junctions we show that the emergence of the zero-energy LDOS peak at the superconducting phase $ϕ=π$ is associated purely with odd-frequency pairing in the middle of the junction.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Probing chiral edge states in topological superconductors through spin-polarized local density of state measurements

We show that spin-polarized local density of states (LDOS) measurements can uniquely determine the chiral nature of topologically protected edge states surrounding a ferromagnetic island embedded in a conventional superconductor with spin-orbit coupling. The spin-polarized LDOS show a strong spin-polarization directly tied to the normal direction of the edge, with opposite polarizations on opposite sides of the island, and with a distinct oscillatory pattern in energy.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Universal phase diagrams with superconducting domes for electronic flat bands

Condensed matter systems with flat bands close to the Fermi level generally exhibit, due to their very large density of states, extraordinary high critical ordering temperatures of symmetry breaking orders, such as superconductivity and magnetism. Here we show that the critical temperatures follow one of two universal curves with doping away from a flat band depending on the ordering channel, which completely dictates both the general order competition and the phase diagram. Notably, we find that orders in the particle-particle channel (superconducting orders) survive decisively further than orders in the particle-hole channel (magnetic or charge orders) because the channels have fundamentally different polarizabilities. Thus, even if a magnetic or charge order initially dominates, superconducting domes are still likely to exist on the flanks of flat bands. We apply these general results to both the topological surface flat bands of rhombohedral ABC-stacked graphite and to the van Hove singularity of graphene.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Domain walls in a chiral d-wave superconductor on the honeycomb lattice

We perform a fully self-consistent study of domain walls between different chiral domains in chiral $d_{x^2-y^2} \pm id_{xy}-wave superconductors with an underlying honeycomb lattice structure. We investigate domain walls along all possible armchair and zigzag directions and with a finite global phase shift across the domain wall, in addition to the change of chirality. For armchair domain walls we find the lowest domain wall energy at zero global phase shift, while the most favorable zigzag domain wall has a finite global phase shift dependent on the doping level. Below the van Hove singularity the armchair domain wall is most favorable, while at even higher doping the zigzag domain wall has the lowest energy. The domain wall causes a local suppression of the superconducting order parameter, with the superconducting recovery length following a universal curve for all domain walls. Moreover, we always find four subgap states crossing zero energy and well localized to the domain wall. However, the details of their energy spectrum vary notably, especially with the global phase shift across the domain wall.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Disorder robustness and protection of Majorana bound states in ferromagnetic chains on conventional superconductors

Majorana bound states (MBS) are well-established in the clean limit in chains of ferromagnetically aligned impurities deposited on conventional superconductors with finite spin-orbit coupling. Here we show that these MBS are very robust against disorder. By performing self-consistent calculations we find that the MBS are protected as long as the surrounding superconductor show no large signs of inhomogeneity. We find that longer chains offer more stability against disorder for the MBS, albeit the minigap decreases, as do increasing strengths of spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Impurity bound states in fully gapped $d$-wave superconductors with subdominant order parameters

Impurities in superconductors and their induced bound states are important both for engineering novel states such as Majorana zero-energy modes and for probing bulk properties of the superconducting state. The high-temperature cuprates offer a clear advantage in a much larger superconducting order parameter, but the nodal energy spectrum of a pure $d$-wave superconductor only allows virtual bound states. Fully gapped $d$-wave superconducting states have however been proposed in several cuprate systems thanks to subdominant order parameters producing $d+is$- or $d+id'$-wave superconducting states. Here we study both magnetic and potential impurities in these fully gapped $d$-wave superconductors. Using analytical T-matrix and complementary numerical tight-binding lattice calculations, we show that magnetic and potential impurities behave fundamentally different in $d+is$- and $d+id'$-wave superconductors. In a $d+is$-wave superconductor, there are no bound states for potential impurities, while a magnetic impurity produces one pair of bound states, with a zero-energy level crossing at a finite scattering strength. On the other hand, a $d+id'$-wave symmetry always give rise to two pairs of bound states and only produce a reachable zero-energy level crossing if the normal state has a strong particle-hole asymmetry.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Superconducting order parameter $π$-phase shift in magnetic impurity wires

It has previously been found that a magnetic impurity in a conventional $s$-wave superconductor can give rise to a local $π$-phase shift of the superconducting order parameter. By studying a finite wire of ferromagnetic impurities, we are able to trace the origin of the $π$-phase shift to a resonance condition for the Bogoliubov-de Gennes quasiparticle states. When non-resonating states localized at the impurity sites are pulled into the condensate for increasing magnetic strength, the superconducting order parameter is reduced in discrete steps, eventually resulting in a $π$-phase shift. We also show that for a finite spin-orbit coupling, the $π$-phase shift is preserved and occurs in a large portion of the topologically non-trivial phase.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Majorana fermions at odd junctions in a wire network of ferromagnetic impurities

We consider a wire network of ferromagnetic impurities on the surface of an $s$-wave superconductor with strong Rashba spin-orbit interaction. Within the topological phase, zero-energy Majorana fermions appear at wire end-points as well as at junctions between an odd number of wire segments, while no low-energy states are present at junctions between an even number of wire segments, providing strong experimentally accessible signatures for Majorana fermions. We also investigate the quasiparticle energy gap with respect to varying the Rashba spin-orbit coupling and magnetic impurity strength.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Currents induced by magnetic impurities in superconductors with spin-orbit coupling

We show that superconducting currents are generated around magnetic impurities and ferromagnetic islands proximity-coupled to superconductors with finite spin-orbit coupling. Using the Ginzburg-Landau theory, T-matrix calculation, as well as self-consistent numerical simulation on a lattice, we find a strong dependence of the current on the direction and magnitude of the magnetic moment. We establish that in the case of point magnetic impurities, the current is carried by the induced Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) subgap states. In the vicinity of the phase transition, where the YSR states cross at zero energy, the current increases dramatically. Furthermore, we show that the currents are orthogonal to the local spin polarization and, thus, can be probed by measuring the spin-polarized local density of states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Solid state Stern-Gerlach spin-splitter for magnetic field sensoring, spintronics, and quantum computing

We show that the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator can be used to construct a solid state Stern-Gerlach spin-splitter. By threading such a Stern-Gerlach apparatus with a magnetic flux, Ahranov-Bohm like interference effects are introduced. Using ferromagnetic leads, the setup can be used to both measure magnetic flux and as a spintronics switch. With normal metallic leads a switchable spintronics NOT-gate can be implemented. Furthermore, we show that a sequence of such devices can be used to construct a single-qubit $SU(2)$-gate, one of the two gates required for a universal quantum computer. The field sensitivity, or switching field, $b$ is related to the device characteristic size $r$ through $b = \frac{\hbar}{qr^2}$, with $q$ the unit of electric charge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗