arXiv subjects

Manuel Houzet

Publications and source records attributed to Manuel Houzet.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Heat rectification through a quantum two-level system

We study heat rectification through a quantum two-level system asymmetrically coupled to two thermal baths, as described by the Ohmic spin-boson model. We evaluate the steady-state heat current using a tensor-network approach, which enables us to access the strongly correlated regime, and benchmark the results against analytical formulas in several limiting regimes, including the weak-coupling and incoherent-tunneling regimes. We identify a scaling regime where the studied system flows from an ultraviolet regime, at temperatures larger than the Kondo temperature, to an infrared regime, at temperatures lower than the Kondo temperature. By applying perturbation theory near the infrared fixed point, we find that the rectification ratio follows a universal power law. Our numerical results agree well with this analytical prediction. Our results provide a fundamental understanding of how dissipation-induced many-body physics affects heat transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Andreev-enhanced conductance quantization and gate-tunable induced superconducting gap in germanium

Ge/SiGe quantum well heterostructures confining a high-mobility two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) have emerged as a compelling platform for hybrid superconductor(S)-semiconductor(Sm) quantum devices. Here, we investigate the low-temperature transport properties of split-gate quantum point contacts (QPC) defined in one such heterostructure and positioned at different distances from an aluminum superconducting contact. We observe ballistic one-dimensional transport evidenced by conductance quantization with at least four clearly visible plateaus. Andreev reflection at the S/Sm interface induces a 40% enhancement of the conductance steps relative to the normal-state conductance staircase measured under a 100-mT out-of-plane magnetic field. This result is in excellent agreement with the theoretical expectation for an interface transparency of 0.88. By operating the QPCs in the tunneling regime, we probe the local density of states of the proximitized 2DHG. We report direct experimental evidence of an induced superconducting gap, demonstrating that its magnitude can be tuned by a gate voltage acting on the carrier density in the 2DHG.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Andreev bound states in a superconducting qubit at odd parity

The quantum mechanics of the Josephson effect is the core ingredient for quantum technologies with superconducting circuits. A new avenue was recently opened in this field by predicting that the Josephson quantum mechanics in the odd parity sector, when a quasiparticle in trapped in an Andreev bound state, is fundamentally different from the conventional one in the even sector. The focus was then on a Josephson junction surrounded by an electromagnetic environment formed of a collection of bosonic modes, including the case of an ohmic environment. Here we consider the distinct case of a superconducting qubit made of a single Josephson junction whose environment reduces to a capacitance. We find a novel structure for the low-lying discrete states in the odd sector, which is altogether different from the one that appears in the even sector. Our study of the bound-state spectrum ranges from the Coulomb-dominated (Cooper pair box) to the Josephson-dominated (transmon) regime. Our prediction could be tested in forthcoming experiments with superconductor/semiconductor/superconductor junctions, which have been studied intensively in recent years, both using nanowires as well as two-dimensional electron gases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Multiple Quasiparticle Bound States in a Trap Created by a Local Superconducting Gap Variation

At low temperature, the concentration of quasiparticles observed in superconducting circuits far exceeds the predictions of microscopic BCS theory at equilibrium. As a source of dissipation, these excess quasiparticles degrade the performance of various devices. Therefore, understanding their dynamics, especially their recombination into Cooper pairs, is an active topic of current research. In disordered superconductors, spatial fluctuations in the superconducting gap can trap quasiparticles and modify their eigenspectrum. Since this spectrum plays a key role in quasiparticle dynamics, it must be carefully investigated. To this end, we introduce a toy model of a single trap. Specifically, we consider a shallow disk-shaped gap variation in a clean superconductor. Using a semiclassical approximation, we demonstrate the existence of multiple bound states and give the dependence of their number on the size and depth of the gap suppression. Extending our analysis beyond the semiclassical regime, in dimensions larger than one, we observe an infinite number of bound states very close to the gap edge, even for an arbitrarily small trap. These results deepen our understanding of trapped quasiparticles and may have important implications for their recombination in disordered superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Josephson diode effect in a ballistic single-channel nanowire

When time-reversal and inversion symmetry are broken, superconducting circuits may exhibit a so-called diode effect, where the critical currents for opposite directions of the current flow differ. In recent years, this effect has been observed in a multitude of systems and the different physical ingredients that may yield such an effect are well understood. On a microscopic level, the interplay between spin-orbit coupling and a Zeeman field may give rise to a diode effect in a single Josephson junction. However, so far there is no analytical description of the effect within a simple model. Here we study a single channel nanowire with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and in the presence of a Zeeman field. We show that the different Fermi velocities and spin projections of the two pseudo-spin bands lead to a diode effect. Simple analytical expressions for the diode efficiency can be obtained in limiting cases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Paramagnetic limit of spin-triplet superconductors

We study the phase diagram of spin-triplet superconductors, considering the effect of the external magnetic field on the electrons' spins. For a given symmetry of the order parameter and a generic orientation of the field, we find that the paramagnetic limit for superconductivity diverges at low temperatures. Furthermore, we identify a range of temperatures where the transition between normal and superconducting phases becomes of the first order. When two tricritical points exist along the transition line, a first order phase transition between two superconducting phases may develop in vicinity of the tricritical point with lower temperature. We discuss the implications of our findings for the anisotropy of the upper critical field in UPt$_3$, a candidate material for triplet superconductivity, when both the paramagnetic and orbital effects are taken into account.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Theory of quasiparticle-induced errors in driven-dissipative Schrödinger cat qubits

Understanding the mechanisms of qubit decoherence is a crucial prerequisite for improving the qubit performance. In this work we discuss the effects of residual Bogolyubov quasiparticles in Schrödinger cat qubits, either of the dissipative or Kerr type. The major difference from previous studies of quasiparticles in superconducting qubits is that the Schrödinger cat qubits are operated under non-equilibrium conditions. Indeed, an external microwave drive is needed to stabilize "cat states", which are superpositions of coherent degenerate eigenstates of an effective stationary Lindbladian in the rotating frame. We present a microscopic derivation of the master equation for cat qubits and express the effect of the quasiparticles as dissipators acting on the density matrix of the cat qubit. This enables us to determine the conditions under which the quasiparticles give a substantial contribution to the qubit errors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Opportunities for the direct manipulation of a phase-driven Andreev spin qubit

In a Josephson junction, the transfer of Cooper pairs from one superconductor to the other one can be associated with the formation of Andreev bound states. In a Josephson junction made with a semiconducting nanowire, the spin degeneracy of these Andreev states can be broken thanks to the presence of spin-orbit coupling and a finite phase difference between the two superconducting electrodes. The lifting of the spin degeneracy opened the way to the realization of Andreev spin qubits that do not require the application of a large magnetic field. So far the operation of these qubits relied on a Raman process involving two microwave tones and a third Andreev state [M. Hays et al., Science 373, 430 (2021)]. Still, time-reversal preserving impurities in the nanowire allow for spin-flip scattering processes. Here, using the formalism of scattering matrices, we show that these processes generically couple Andreev states with opposite spins. In particular, the non-vanishing current matrix element between them allows for the direct manipulation of phase-driven Andreev spin qubits, thereby circumventing the use of the above-mentioned Raman process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Thermal transport across a Josephson junction in a dissipative environment

At zero temperature, a Josephson junction coupled to an ohmic environment displays a quantum phase transition between superconducting and insulating phases, depending whether the resistance of the environment is below or above the resistance quantum. At finite temperature, this so-called Schmid transition turns into a crossover. We determine the conditions under which the temperature dependence of the thermal conductance, which characterizes heat flow from a hot to cold resistor across the Josephson junction, displays universal scaling characteristic of the Schmid transition. We also discuss conditions for heat rectification to happen in the circuit. Our work can serve as a guide for identifying signatures of the Schmid transition in heat transport experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Josephson quantum mechanics at odd parity

A Josephson junction may be in a stable odd parity state when a single quasiparticle is trapped in an Andreev bound state. Embedding such junction in an electromagnetic environment gives rise to a special quantum mechanics of superconducting phase that we investigate theoretically. Our analysis covers several representative cases, from the lifting of the supercurrent quench due to quasiparticle poisoning for a low ohmic impedance of the environment, to a Schmid transition in a current-biased junction that for odd parity occurs at four times bigger critical impedance. For intermediate impedances, the supercurrent in the odd state is higher than in the even one.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Microwave spectroscopy of Schmid transition

Schmid transition was introduced first as a superconductor-insulator transition in the zero-frequency response of a shunted Josephson junction in equilibrium at zero temperature. As it is typical for a quantum impurity problem, at finite frequencies the transition is broadened to a crossover. Modern attempts to find Schmid transition rely on finite-frequency measurements of a quantum circuit. We predict the frequency dependence of the admittance and reflection phase shift for a high-impedance transmission line terminated by a Josephson junction for a wide variety of devices, from a charge qubit to a transmon. Our results identify the circuit parameters allowing for the universal scaling of the responses with frequency, thus helping to identify the Schmid transition from the finite-frequency measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Spectral properties of disordered Ising superconductors with singlet and triplet pairing in in-plane magnetic fields

We study the spectral properties of disordered superconductors with Ising spin-orbit coupling (ISOC) subjected to in-plane magnetic fields. In addition to the conventional singlet pairing, we also consider the recently proposed equal-spin triplet pairing, which couples to the singlet at finite in-plane magnetic fields. While both singlet and triplet order parameters are immune to intravalley scattering, they are significantly affected by intervalley scattering. In the realistic regime of strong ISOC, we find that the properties of the superconductor are well described by a simple formula reminiscent of the well-known Abrikosov-Gor'kov theory, but with a modified self-consistency condition. Our results enable straightforward self-consistent calculation of singlet and triplet order parameters and the density of states of disordered Ising superconductors, which can be particularly useful for interpreting recent tunneling spectroscopy experiments in these systems. We also investigate the high-energy features in the density of states, the so-called mirage gaps, and discuss how they are modified by triplet pairing.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Geometrical effects on the downstream conductance in quantum-Hall--superconductor hybrid systems

We consider a quantum Hall (QH) region in contact with a superconductor (SC), i.e., a QH-SC junction. Due to successive Andreev reflections, the QH-SC interface hosts hybridized electron and hole edge states called chiral Andreev edge states (CAES). We theoretically study the transport properties of these CAES by using a microscopic, tight-binding model. We find that the transport properties strongly depend on the contact geometry and the value of the filling factor. We notice that it is necessary to add local barriers at the corners of the junction in order to reproduce such properties, when using effective one-dimensional models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Spin susceptibility of nonunitary spin-triplet superconductors

The spin susceptibility is an important probe to characterize the symmetry of the order parameter in unconventional superconductors. Among them, nonunitary triplet superconductors have attracted a lot of attention recently in the context of the search for topological superconductivity. Here, we derive a general formula for the spin susceptibility of nonunitary triplet superconductors within a single-band model of non-magnetic, centrosymmetric materials with strong spin-orbit coupling. We use it to critically assess experimental claims of nonunitary triplet superconductivity in some materials.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Anomalous Josephson effect in planar noncentrosymmetric superconducting devices

In two-dimensional electron systems with broken inversion and time-reversal symmetries, a Josephson junction reveals an anomalous response: the supercurrent is nonzero even at zero phase difference between two superconductors. We consider details of this peculiar phenomenon in the planar double-barrier configurations of hybrid circuits, where the noncentrosymmetric normal region is described in terms of the paradigmatic Rashba model of spin-orbit coupling. We analyze this anomalous Josephson effect by means of both the Ginzburg-Landau formalism and the microscopic Green's functions approach in the clean limit. The magnitude of the critical current is calculated for an arbitrary in-plane magnetic field orientation, and anomalous phase shifts in the Josephson current-phase relation are determined in terms of the parameters of the model in several limiting cases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Josephson effect in superconductor-normal dot-superconductor junctions driven out of equilibrium by quasiparticle injection

We study theoretically the large variations of the supercurrent through a normal dot that are induced by a small quasiparticle injection current from normal leads connected to the dot. We find that the supercurrent decomposes into a subgap contribution, which depends on the voltages applied to the normal leads, as well as a contribution with opposite sign from energies outside the gap, which is insensitive to the voltages. As the voltages gradually suppress the subgap contribution, a critical voltage exists above which the contribution from energies outside the gap dominates, leading to a sign reversal of the current-phase relation, namely a transition to a so-called $π$-junction behavior. We determine the critical voltage and analyze the robustness of the effect with respect to temperature and inelastic relaxation in the dot.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Transmission of waves through a pinned elastic medium

We investigate the scattering of elastic waves off a disordered region described by a one-dimensional random-phase sine-Gordon model. The collective pinning results in an effective static disorder potential with universal and non-Gaussian correlations, acting on propagating waves. We find signatures of the correlations in the wave transmission in a wide frequency range, which covers both the weak and strong localization regimes. Our theory elucidates the dynamics of collectively-pinned phases occurring in any natural or synthetic elastic medium. The latter one is exemplified by a one-dimensional array of Josephson junctions, for which we specify our results. The obtained results provide benchmarks for the array-enabled quantum simulations addressing the dynamics in broader and yet-unexplored domains of individual pinning and quantum Bose glass.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2021

Conductance quantization in topological Josephson trijunctions

The Josephson current flowing in a junction between two superconductors is a striking manifestation of macroscopic quantum coherence, with applications in metrology and quantum information. This equilibrium current is related with the formation of Andreev states localized in the junction, whose energy depends periodically on the superconducting phase difference. Topology emerged as a guide for predicting exotic properties of Andreev states. In particular, topological superconductors host Majorana modes at their ends. Then, in a junction with such leads, the hybridization of two Majorana modes results in an Andreev state with a period-doubling of its energy-phase dependence. Furthermore, topologically protected crossings between Andreev states in junctions with more than two leads may be revealed through a quantized transconductance. The prediction motivated recent efforts to fabricate multi-terminal junctions. Here we combine both topological effects to predict a robust non-vanishing quantized transconductance in trijunctions with topological leads. Such devices are envisioned to reveal the anyonic nature of Majorana states through their braiding. Our prediction can be used to assess that a given junction is indeed suitable to perform its braiding function.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗