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Keiji Yada

Publications and source records attributed to Keiji Yada.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Bogoliubov flat bands in twisted layered materials

Flat bands have attracted considerable interest in condensed matter physics because they provide a fertile platform for realizing strongly correlated and topological quantum phases. To date, however, most studies have focused on flat bands in normal-state electronic structures, such as those found in graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides. In this work, we investigate the emergence of flat bands in the superconducting Bogoliubov quasiparticle spectrum of twisted layered $d$-wave superconductors. We show that when the superconducting order parameter is odd under the in-plane $\mathrm{C}_2$ rotation, Bogoliubov flat bands can be engineered in the vicinity of the rotation axis. By analyzing a low-energy effective Hamiltonian, we demonstrate that the Berry connection of single layer system provides a clear criterion for the formation of the Bogoliubov flat bands. Our results establish a new paradigm of superconducting twistronics, in which the twist angle acts as a powerful tuning parameter for designing gapless flat-band superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con

Engineering subgap states in superconductors by the symmetry of altermagnetism

Combining superconducting and magnetic materials is a promising path to generate exotic interface subgap states. In this regard, altermagnetism is particularly interesting because it lifts spin degeneracy while providing tailored anisotropy of spin splittings. Here, we investigate the realization and control of subgap states by using the symmetry contrast between altermagnetic fields and unconventional pairings. When the symmetries of altermagnetism and unconventional superconductivity align, we demonstrate the emergence of bulk zero-energy flat bands as the Bogoliubov Fermi surface, giving rise to a zero-bias conductance peak. The symmetry and strength of $d$-wave altermagnets strongly affect the surface Andreev states from $d$-wave and chiral $d$- and $p$-wave superconductors. As a result, distinct types of subgap states are realized, including curved and flat bands, that can be detected by tunneling spectroscopy. Our results offer a solid route for designing and manipulating subgap states in superconducting systems, which can be useful for functionalizing superconducting devices.

cond-mat.supr-con

$p$-wave superconductivity and Josephson current in $p$-wave unconventional magnet/$s$-wave superconductor hybrid systems

We study the surface density of states in $p$-wave unconventional magnet-spin-singlet $s$-wave superconductor hybrid systems ($p$-wave unconventional magnetic superconductors). Owing to the noncollinear spin structure in $p$-wave unconventional magnets, the spin-singlet $s$-wave pair potential behaves as the spin-triplet $p$-wave superconductivity. As a result, zero-energy flat bands can emerge at the edge. Analyzing the pair amplitude at the edge, odd-frequency spin-triplet even-parity pairing is induced in the presence of zero-energy flat bands, while even-frequency spin-singlet even-parity remains. We also demonstrate the Josephson current in superconducting junctions with $p$-wave unconventional magnet-spin-singlet $s$-wave superconductor hybrid systems. By the cooperation of spin-singlet $s$-wave pair potential and the $p$-wave unconventional magnetic order, the coupling of the spin-singlet even-parity pairings in junctions generates the first harmonics of the Josephson current. In addition, the temperature dependence of the maximum Josephson current can be tuned by the chemical potential, which determines the generation of zero-energy flat bands. Our results indicate that $s+p$-wave-like superconducting state is generated in $p$-wave unconventional magnet-$s$-wave superconductor hybrid systems.

cond-mat.supr-con

Tunneling conductance in superconducting junctions with $p$-wave unconventional magnets breaking time-reversal symmetry

A new type of magnet called $p$-wave unconventional magnet is proposed, stimulated by the discovery of altermagnet. We study the tunneling conductance of $p$-wave unconventional magnet/superconductor junctions by adopting the effective Hamiltonian of $p$-wave unconventional magnets with time-reversal symmetry breaking, suggested in Ref [arXiv: 2309.01607 (2024)]. The tunneling conductance shows an asymmetric behavior with respect to bias voltage in the helical $p$-wave superconductor junctions. It is caused by the missing of helical edge states contributing to the charge conductance owing to the momentum-dependent spin-split feature of the Fermi surface in $p$-wave unconventional magnets. In chiral $d$ and $p$-wave superconductor junctions, the resulting spin-resolved tunneling conductance takes a different value for spin sectors due to the time-reversal symmetry breaking in superconductors. Our results qualitatively reproduce the results based on the simplified Hamiltonian in Ref [J.\ Phys.\ Soc.\ Jpn.\ \textbf{93}, 114703 (2024)], where only the odd function of the exchange coupling of $p$-wave unconventional magnets is taken into account, which gives the shift of the Fermi surface and preserves the time-reversal symmetry similar to the spin-orbit coupling.

cond-mat.supr-con

Crossed surface flat bands in three-dimensional superconducting altermagnets

Superconducting altermagnets have proven to be a promising ground for emergent phenomena, but their study has involved two-dimensional systems. In this work, we investigate three-dimensional $d$- and $g$-wave altermagnets with spin-singlet chiral $d$-wave superconductivity and show the formation of crossed surface flat bands due to the interplay between superconducting and altermagnetic symmetries. We find that these crossed flat bands are topologically protected, appear at zero energy in the surface along $z$ due to the superconducting nodal lines in the $xy$-plane, and their number of corners is determined by the crystal symmetry of altermagnets. We also show that the superconducting nodal lines give rise to Bogoliubov-Fermi surfaces, which then affect the appearance of zero-energy arcs in the surface along $x$. Moreover, we demonstrate that the crossed flat bands or surface arcs, and Bogoliubov-Fermi surfaces give rise to the coexistence of three distinct dependences of the charge conductance on the normal transparency, hence offering a solid way for their detection and paving the way for realizing higher-dimensional topological phases using altermagnets.

cond-mat.supr-con

Superconducting phenomena in systems with unconventional magnets

In this work we review the recent advances on superconducting phenomena in junctions formed by superconductors and unconventional magnets. Conventional magnets, such as ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, are characterized by broken time-reversal symmetry but only ferromagnets produce a finite net magnetization due to parallel spin alignment and spin-split bands in momentum. Very recently, a new type of magnets has been reported and here we refer to them as unconventional magnets because they exhibit special properties of both ferromagnets and antiferromagnets: they exhibit zero net magnetization (like antiferromagnets) and a nonrelativistic spin splitting of energy bands (like ferromagnets), both leading to anisotropic spin-polarized Fermi surfaces. An interesting property of unconventional magnets is that their magnetic order can be even or odd with respect to momentum, where $d$-wave altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets are the most representative examples. In this regard, $d$-wave altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets are seen as counterparts in magnetism of the unconventional $d$- and $p$-wave superconducting states, respectively. While the impact of conventional magnetism on superconductivity has been largely studied, the combination of unconventional magnets and superconductivity has only lately attracted considerably attention. This work provides a comprehensive review of the recent progress on the interplay between superconductivity and unconventional magnets. In particular, we focus on the fundamental emerging superconducting phenomena and also discuss the potential implications towards quantum applications.

cond-mat.supr-con

The Josephson effect in Fibonacci superconductors

We theoretically investigate the Josephson effect between two proximized Fibonacci quasicrystals. A quasiperiodic modulation of the chemical potential on a superconducting substrate induces topological gaps and edge modes with energies above the superconducting gap. We reveal that these edge modes develop superconducting correlations which significantly impact the Josephson current, and we term them Fibonacci-Andreev bound states. Notably, the contribution from these edge modes can be controlled by the Fibonacci sequence arrangement, known as phason angle, and can dominate the Josephson effect over the conventional subgap Andreev bound states in short junctions. The interplay between the Josephson effect and nontrivial edge modes in quasiperiodic systems presents new opportunities for exploring exotic superconducting phenomena in quasicrystals.

cond-mat.supr-con

Classification of pair symmetries in superconductors with unconventional magnetism

We consider unconventional magnets with proximity-induced superconductivity and investigate the emergence of superconducting correlations by carrying out a full classification of allowed Cooper pair symmetries. In particular, we focus on $d$-wave altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets under the influence of spin-singlet and spin-triplet superconductivity induced by proximity effect. Under generic conditions, we find that unconventional magnets not only drive a spin-singlet to spin-triplet conversion but also they transfer their parity symmetry that induces superconducting correlations with higher angular momentum. For instance, a conventional spin-singlet $s$-wave superconductor with $d$-wave altermagnetism is able to host odd-frequency mixed spin-triplet $d$-wave superconducting pair amplitudes, while when combining with $p$-wave magnetism the emerging superconducting pairing acquires an even-frequency mixed spin-triplet $p$-wave symmetry. We further demonstrate that unconventional magnetism produces even more exotic superconducting correlations in spin-singlet $d$-wave superconductors, where odd-frequency mixed spin-triplet $g$-wave and even-frequency mixed spin-triplet $f$-wave pair symmetries are possible in altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets, respectively. We also discuss how these ideas generalize to spin-triplet $p$-wave superconductors and also show how our results can be applied to unconventional magnets with higher angular momentum, such as with $f$-, $g$-, and $i$-wave symmetries. Our results can help understand the emergent superconducting correlations due to the interplay of unconventional magnetism and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con

Josephson effect and odd-frequency pairing in superconducting junctions with unconventional magnets

We consider Josephson junctions formed by coupling two conventional superconductors via an unconventional magnet and investigate the formation of Andreev bound states, their impact on the Josephson effect, and the emergent superconducting correlations. We focus on unconventional magnets known as $d$-wave altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets. We find that the Andreev bound states in $d$-wave altermagnet and $p_y$-wave magnet Josephson junctions strongly depend on the transverse momentum, with a spin splitting and low-energy minima as a function of the superconducting phase difference $φ$. In contrast, the Andreev bound states for $p_{x}$-wave magnets are insensitive to the transverse momentum. We show that the Andreev bound states can be probed by the local density of states in the middle of the junction, which also reveals that $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$- and $p$-wave magnet junctions are prone to host zero energy peaks. While the zero-energy peak in $d_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$-wave altermagnet junctions tends to oscillate with the magnetic order, it remains robust in $p$-wave magnet junctions. We also demonstrate that the critical currents in $d$-wave altermagnet Josephson junctions exhibit an oscillatory decay with the increase of the magnetic order, while the oscillations are absent in $p$-wave magnet junctions albeit the currents exhibit a slow decay. Furthermore, we also demonstrate that the interplay of the Josephson effect and unconventional magnetic order of $d$-wave altermagnets and $p$-wave magnets originates from odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave superconducting correlations that are otherwise absent. Our results can serve as a guide to pursue the new functionality of Josephson junctions based on unconventional magnets.

cond-mat.supr-con

Theory of Tunneling Spectroscopy in Unconventional $p$-wave Magnet-Superconductor Hybrid Structures

We theoretically study the tunneling conductance of a junction consisting of a two-dimensional unconventional $p$-wave magnet (UPM) and a superconductor (SC) for various pairing symmetries. The zero bias conductance peaks arising from the dispersionless surface Andreev bound states (SABSs) in $d_{xy}$-wave and $p_{x}$-wave superconductor junctions are insensitive against varying the magnetic spin-splitting strength $α_{y}$. Moreover, for chiral $p$- or chiral $d$-wave SCs, zero bias conductance shows a non-monotonic change as a function of $α_{y}$ indicating the existence of the dispersive SABSs. Our obtained results of tunneling spectroscopy based on a UPM serve as an effective way for the identification of the pairing symmetries of unconventional superconductors. It is noted that our used Hamiltonian of UPM is also available for persistent spin helix systems.

cond-mat.supr-con

$φ$ Josephson junction induced by altermagnetism

We study the Josephson effect in a superconductor/altermagnet/superconductor (S/AM/S) junction. We find anomalous phenomena including $0$-$π$ transition as well as multi-nodal current-phase relations. Similar to $d$-wave superconductor, $d$-wave altermagnet can support $φ$ junction where free energy minima locate neither $φ=0$ nor $\pm π$ with double degeneracy. These properties can be tunable by parameters, e.g., the exchange energy, the orientation of crystal axis, the length, and the chemical doping of altermagnet. These rich features lead to accessible functionality of S/AM/S junction.

cond-mat.supr-con

Evaluation of Doppler shifts in $d$-wave superconductor tunneling junctions

The energy levels of quasiparticles in superconductors experience Doppler shifts due to the influence of a finite current flow. The influence of the Doppler shift is particularly pronounced in unconventional superconductors with gap nodes. In the case of a normal/insulator/superconductor junction of $d$-wave superconductors, a zero-bias conductance peak exhibits a peak shift in an applied magnetic field. Although the shifts have been detected in experiments, the shifts showed different field responses depending on each experiment. In this paper, we evaluate the magnitude of the shift based on realistic junction shapes to elucidate the origin of the variability in experimental Doppler shifts. We find that the peak shift depends on the junction shape; the splitting is significantly suppressed when the junction is formed at a protruding position. Also, the shift is suppressed by the penetration of magnetic flux quanta, resulting in a nonlinear response to the magnetic field. The present results explain the origin of the variability in experimental Doppler shifts.

cond-mat.supr-con

Particle-hole spectral asymmetry at the edge of multiorbital noncentrosymmetric superconductors

Bogoliubov quasiparticles are a coherent electron-hole quantum superposition which typically, for time-reversal symmetric superconductors, exhibit a spectral distribution with particle-hole symmetry. Here, we demonstrate that in two-dimensional noncentrosymmetric superconductors with multiorbital spin-triplet pairing the energy profile of the density of states at the edge can violate this paradigm. We show that the structure of Andreev reflections generally leads to pairing states made of configurations that are orbitally split due to the low degree of crystalline symmetry at the edge. The resulting pairing state has a mixed parity character in the orbital sector that, in the presence of reduced crystal symmetry at the edge, sets out a particle-hole asymmetric profile for the spectral function. These findings indicate a path to design asymmetric spectral functions at the edge of superconductors with orbital degrees of freedom and time-reversal symmetry. The emerging signatures can be exploited for the detection of spin-triplet pairing equipped with internal degrees of freedom.

cond-mat.supr-con

Anomalous Josephson Coupling and High-Harmonics in Non-Centrosymmetric Superconductors with $S$-wave Spin-Triplet Pairing

We study the Josephson effects arising in junctions made of non-centrosymmetric superconductors with spin-triplet pairing having $s$-wave orbital-singlet symmetry. We demonstrate that the orbital dependent character of the spin-triplet order parameter determines its non-trivial texture in the momentum space due to the inversion symmetry breaking and spin-orbit interactions. The emergence of this pattern is responsible for the occurrence of an anomalous Josephson coupling and a dominance of high-harmonics in the current phase relation. Remarkably, due to the spin-orbital couplings, variations in the electronic structure across the heterostructure can generally turn the ground state of the junction from 0- to a generic value of the Josephson phase, thus realizing the so-called $φ$-junction. Hallmarks of the resulting Josephson behavior, apart from non-standard current-phase relation, are provided by an unconventional temperature and magnetic field dependence of the critical current. These findings indicate the path for the design of superconducting orbitronics devices and account for several observed anomalies of the supercurrent in oxide interface superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con

Topological superconductivity in helical crystals

We study superconductivity and surface Andreev bound states in helical crystals. We consider the interlayer pairings along the helical hopping and investigate the surface local density of states on the (001) and zigzag surfaces for all the possible irreducible representations. There are three and four irreducible representations exhibiting the zero energy peaks in the local density of states at the (001) and zigzag surfaces of helical lattices, respectively. By calculating the one dimensional winging number, we show that these appearances of the zero energy peaks stem from the surface Andreev bound states.

cond-mat.supr-con

Theory of Josephson current on a lattice model of grain boundary in $d$-wave superconductors

Identifying the origins of suppression of the critical current at grain boundaries of high-critical-temperature superconductors, such as cuprates and iron-based superconductors, is a crucial issue to be solved for future applications with polycrystalline materials. Although the dominant factor of current suppression might arise during material fabrication and/or processing, investigating it due to an internal phase change of the pair potential is an important issue in understanding the threshold of the critical current. In this paper, we study the Josephson current on a symmetric [001]-tilt grain boundary (GB) of a $d$-wave superconductor on a lattice model. In addition to the suppression of the maximum Josephson current associated with the internal phase change of the $d$-wave pair potential which has been predicted in continuum models, we find a unique phase interference effect due to folding of the Fermi surface in the lattice model. In particular, the resultant maximum Josephson current at low-tilting-angle regions tends to be suppressed more than that in preexisting theories. Because similar suppressions of the critical current at GBs have been reported in several experimental works, the present model can serve as a guide to clarify the complicated transport mechanism in GBs.

cond-mat.supr-con

Odd-frequency pairs and anomalous proximity effect in nematic and chiral states of superconducting topological insulators

We investigate emergent odd-frequency pairs and proximity effect in nematic and chiral states of superconducting topological insulators (STIs), such as $M_x$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ ($M=$ Cu, Sr, Nb). The interplay of superconducting gap symmetry, the orbital degrees of freedom, and strong spin-orbit interaction generates a variety of odd-frequency pairs in the bulk and surface of STIs. The nematic and chiral states are the prototypes of topological superconductors with and without time-reversal symmetry, respectively. We find that the Fermi surface evolution from a closed spheroidal to an open cylindrical shape gives rise to the evolution of the emergent odd-frequency pairs and surface Andreev bound states (SABSs). In addition, spin polarization of odd-frequency pairs and SABSs stems from the non-unitary pairing in the chiral state. These evolution and spin polarization of odd-frequency pairs and SABSs can be captured by tunnel conductance spectroscopy. Furthermore, we study the anomalous proximity effect in various irreducible representations of STIs. The anomalous proximity effect is originally predicted in spin-triplet superconductor junctions without spin-orbit interaction; Odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave pairs penetrate into diffusive normal metals (DN) and induce a pronounced zero-energy peak of the local density of states in the DN region. Here we demonstrate that contrary to the well-known results, the anomalous proximity effect in STIs is not immune to nonmagnetic impurities. The fragility is attributed to the fact that the proximitized odd-frequency even-parity pairs are admixtures of $s$-wave and non-$s$-wave pairs due to strong spin-orbit interaction inherent to the parent materials.

cond-mat.supr-con

Surface State of Inter-orbital Pairing State in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ Superconductor

We study the (001) surface state of a recently proposed $E_g$ symmetry inter-orbital-odd spin-triplet s-wave superconducting (SC) state in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ (SRO). We confirm that this pair potential is transformed into a chiral $d$-wave pair potential and a pseudo-Zeeman field in the band basis for a low-energy range. Due to the chiral $d$-wave pair potential, the surface states appear near zero energy in the momentum range enclosed by the nodal lines of the chiral d-wave pair potential for each band at the (001) surface. Nevertheless, the pseudo-Zeeman field gives band splitting of the surface states, and its splitting energy is much smaller than the SC energy gap. The local density of states (LDOS) at the (001) surface of the SC state has a pronounced peak structure at zero energy due to the surface states near zero energy when the order of the resolution is lower than the splitting energy. This peak structure is robust under perturbations, such as an orbital Rashba coupling or an $E_u$ SC pair potential at the surface.

cond-mat.str-el