arXiv subjects

J. Kopu

Publications and source records attributed to J. Kopu.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2008

Precessing vortex motion and instability in a rotating column of superfluid 3He-B

The flow of quantized vortex lines in superfluid 3He-B is laminar at high temperatures, but below 0.6 Tc turbulence becomes possible, owing to the rapidly decreasing mutual friction damping. In the turbulent regime a vortex evolving in applied flow may become unstable, create new vortices, and start turbulence. We monitor this single-vortex instability with NMR techniques in a rotating cylinder. Close to the onset temperature of turbulence, an oscillating component in NMR absorption has been observed, while the instability generates new vortices at a low rate ~ 1 vortex/s, before turbulence sets in. By comparison to numerical calculations, we associate the oscillations with spiral vortex motion, when evolving vortices expand to rectilinear lines.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2007

Symmetries of Pairing Correlations in Superconductor-Ferromagnet Nanostructures

Using selection rules imposed by the Pauli principle, we classify pairing correlations according to their symmetry properties with respect to spin, momentum, and energy. We observe that inhomogeneity always leads to mixing of even- and odd-energy pairing components. We investigate the superconducting pairing correlations present near interfaces between superconductors and ferromagnets, with focus on clean systems consisting of singlet superconductors and either weak or half-metallic ferromagnets. Spin-active scattering in the interface region induces all of the possible symmetry components. In particular, the long-range equal-spin pairing correlations have odd-frequency s-wave and even-frequency p-wave components of comparable magnitudes. We also analyze the Josephson current through a half-metal. We find analytic expressions and an interesting universality in the temperature dependence of the critical current in the tunneling limit.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Dynamics of vortices and interfaces in superfluid 3He

Rapid new developments have occurred in superfluid hydrodynamics since the discovery of a host of unusual phenomena which arise from the diverse structure and dynamics of quantized vortices in 3He superfluids. These have been studied in rotating flow with NMR measurements which at best provide an accurate mapping of the different types of topological defects in the superfluid order parameter field. Four observations are reviewed here: (1) the interplay of different vortex structures at the first order interface between the two major superfluid 3He phases, 3He-A and 3He-B; (2) the shear flow instability of this phase boundary, which is now known as the superfluid Kelvin-Helmholtz instability; (3) the hydrodynamic transition from turbulent to regular vortex dynamics as a function of increasing dissipation in vortex motion; and (4) the peculiar propagation of vortex lines in a long rotating column which even in the turbulent regime occurs in the form of a helically twisted vortex state behind a well-developed vortex front. The consequences and implications of these observations are discussed, as inferred from measurements, numerical calculations, and analytical work.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Twisted vortex state

We study a twisted vortex bundle where quantized vortices form helices circling around the axis of the bundle in a "force-free" configuration. Such a state is created by injecting vortices into rotating vortex-free superfluid. Using continuum theory we determine the structure and the relaxation of the twisted state. This is confirmed by numerical calculations. We also present experimental evidence of the twisted vortex state in superfluid 3He-B.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2006

Theory of Half Metal-Superconductor Heterostructures

We investigate the coupling between two singlet superconductors separated by a half-metallic magnet. The mechanism behind the coupling is provided by the rotation of the quasiparticle spin in the superconductor during reflection events at the interface with the half metal. Spin rotation induces triplet correlations in the superconductor which, in the presence of surface spin-flip scattering, result in an indirect Josephson effect between the superconductors. We present a theory appropriate for studying this phenomenon and calculate physical properties for a superconductor/half metal/superconductor (S/HM/S) heterostructure.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Ballistic and diffusive: theory of vortices in the two-band superconductor MgB2

Motivated by the recent results on impurity effects in MgB2, we present a theoretical model for a two-band superconductor in which the character of quasiparticle motion is ballistic in one band and diffusive in the other. We apply our model to calculate the electronic structure in the vicinity of an isolated vortex. We assume that superconductivity in the diffusive (pi) band is induced by that in the clean (sigma) band, as suggested by experimental evidence for MgB2. We focus our attention to the spatial variations of the order parameter, the current density, and the vortex core spectrum in the two bands. Our results indicate that the coupling to the pi band can lead to the appearance of additional bound states near the gap edge in the sigma band that are absent in the single-band case.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Onset of turbulence in superfluid 3He-B and its dependence on vortex injection in applied flow

Vortex dynamics in 3He-B is divided by the temperature dependent damping into a high-temperature regime, where the number of vortices is conserved, and a low-temperature regime, where rapid vortex multiplication takes place in a turbulent burst. We investigate experimentally the hydrodynamic transition between these two regimes by injecting seed vortex loops into vortex-free rotating flow. The onset temperature of turbulence is dominated by the roughly exponential temperature dependence of vortex friction, but its exact value is found to depend on the injection method.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2005

Vortex Multiplication in Applied Flow: the Precursor to Superfluid Turbulence

The dynamics of quantized vortices in rotating $^3$He-B is investigated in the low density (single-vortex) regime as a function of temperature. An abrupt transition is observed at $0.5 T_{\rm c}$. Above this temperature the number of vortex lines remains constant, as they evolve to their equilibrium positions. Below this temperature the number of vortices increases linearly in time until the vortex density has grown sufficiently for turbulence to switch on. On the basis of numerical calculations we suggest a mechanism responsible for vortex formation at low temperatures and identify the mutual friction parameter which governs its abrupt temperature dependence.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2005

Proximity Effect and Multiple Andreev Reflections in Diffusive SNS Junctions

We present a theory of the current-voltage characteristics in diffusive superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor junctions. By solving the time-dependent Usadel equations we are able to describe the phase-coherent transport for arbitrary length of the normal wire. We show how the interplay between proximity effect and multiple Andreev reflections gives rise to a rich subgap structure in the conductance and how it is revealed in the non-equilibrium distribution function.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Singlet-Triplet Mixing in Superconductor-Ferromagnet Hybrid Devices

We develop a theory which describes hybrid structures consisting out of superconducting and ferromagnetic parts. We give two examples for applications. First, we consider a hybrid structure containing a strong ferromagnet in the ballistic limit. Second, we study for a weak ferromagnet the influence of a domain wall on the superconducting proximity effect. In both cases we account quantitatively for the mixing between singlet and triplet correlations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Transfer-matrix description of heterostructures involving superconductors and ferromagnets

Based on the technique of quasiclassical Green's functions, we construct a theoretical framework for describing heterostructures consisting of superconductors and/or spin-polarized materials. The necessary boundary conditions at the interfaces separating different metals are formulated in terms of hopping amplitudes in a t-matrix approximation. The theory is applicable for an interface with arbitrary transmission and exhibiting scattering with arbitrary spin dependence. Also, it can be used in describing both ballistic and diffusive systems. We establish the connection between the standard scattering-matrix approach and the existing boundary conditions, and demonstrate the advantages offered by the t-matrix description.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Determining the current polarization in Al/Co nanostructured point contacts

We present a study of the Andreev reflections in superconductor/ferromagnet nanostructured point contacts. The experimental data are analyzed in the frame of a model with two spin-dependent transmission coefficients for the majority and minority charge carriers in the ferromagnet. This model consistently describes the whole set of conductance measurements as a function of voltage, temperature, and magnetic field. The ensemble of our results shows that the degree of spin polarization of the current can be unambiguously determined using Andreev physics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Soliton-limited Superflow in 3He-A between Parallel Plates

We have studied theoretically the flow of superfluid 3He-A in parallel-plate geometry. The equilibrium order-parameter texture is calculated numerically in two spatial dimensions consisting of the coordinates along the flow direction and perpendicular to the plates. The calculations have been done using the hydrostatic theory in the Ginzburg-Landau region and assuming a large external magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of calculation. We have studied a uniform texture and a dipole-unlocked splay soliton as initial configurations. In the former case we find the Freedericksz transition and a helical instability with increasing flow. In the latter case we find instability in the soliton. This instability is closely related to the critical velocity in the presence of a vortex sheet. Also, the transverse NMR frequency shift at the soliton has been calculated.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

One-Dimensional Textures and Critical Velocity in Superfluid 3He-A

We study theoretically the stability of flow in superfluid 3He-A. The calculations are done using a one-dimensional model where the order parameter depends only on the coordinate in the direction of the superfluid velocity v_s. We concentrate on the case that the external magnetic field H is perpendicular to v_s, where only few results are available analytically. We calculate the critical velocity v_c at which the superflow becomes unstable against the formation of continuous vortices. The detailed dependence of v_c on the temperature and on the form of the underlying orbital texture l(r) is investigated. Both uniform and helical textures and two types of domain-wall structures are studied. The results are partially in agreement with experiments made in a rotating cylinder.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1999

Pseudo-contact angle due to superfluid vortices in $^{4}$He

We have investigated spreading of superfluid $^{4}$He on top of polished MgF$_2$ and evaporated SiO$_{2}$ substrates. Our results show strongly varying contact angles of 0 - 15 mrad on the evaporated layers. According to our theoretical calculations, these contact angles can be explained by a spatially varying distribution of vortex lines, the unpinning velocity of which is inversely proportional to the liquid depth.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv1997

Critical Velocity of Vortex Nucleation in Rotating Superfluid 3He-A

We have measured the critical velocity v_c at which 3He-A in a rotating cylinder becomes unstable against the formation of quantized vortex lines with continuous (singularity-free) core structure. We find that v_c is distributed between a maximum and minimum limit, which we ascribe to a dependence on the texture of the orbital angular momentum l(r) in the cylinder. Slow cool down through T_c in rotation yields l(r) textures for which the measured v_c's are in good agreement with the calculated instability of the expected l texture.

cond-mat.soft↗