arXiv subjects

Y. Oreg

Publications and source records attributed to Y. Oreg.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Local and Nonlocal Transport Spectroscopy in Planar Josephson Junctions

We report simultaneously acquired local and nonlocal transport spectroscopy in a phase-biased planar Josephson junction based on an epitaxial InAs/Al hybrid two-dimensional heterostructure. Quantum point contacts at the junction ends allow measurement of the 2 x 2 matrix of local and nonlocal tunneling conductances as a function of magnetic field along the junction, phase difference across the junction, and carrier density. A closing and reopening of a gap was observed in both the local and nonlocal tunneling spectra as a function of magnetic field. For particular tunings of junction density, gap reopenings were accompanied by zero-bias conductance peaks (ZBCPs) in local conductances. End-to-end correlation of gap reopening was strong, while correlation of local ZBCPs was weak. A simple, disorder-free model of the device shows comparable conductance matrix behavior associated with a topological phase transition. Phase dependence helps distinguish possible origins of the ZBCPs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Signatures of a topological phase transition in a planar Josephson junction

A growing body of work suggests that planar Josephson junctions fabricated using superconducting hybrid materials provide a highly controllable route toward one-dimensional topological superconductivity. Among the experimental controls are in-plane magnetic field, phase difference across the junction, and carrier density set by electrostatic gate voltages. Here, we investigate planar Josephson junctions with an improved design based on an epitaxial InAs/Al heterostructure, embedded in a superconducting loop, probed with integrated quantum point contacts (QPCs) at both ends of the junction. For particular ranges of in-plane field and gate voltages, a closing and reopening of the superconducting gap is observed, along with a zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) that appears upon reopening of the gap. Consistency with a simple theoretical model supports the interpretation of a topological phase transition. While gap closings and reopenings generally occurred together at the two ends of the junction, the height, shape, and even presence of ZBCPs typically differed between the ends, presumably due to disorder and variation of couplings to local probes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Long-lived Andreev states as evidence for protected hinge modes in a bismuth nanoring Josephson junction

Second-order topological insulators are characterized by helical, non-spin-degenerate, one-dimensional states running along opposite crystal hinges, with no backscattering. Injecting superconducting pairs therefore entails splitting Cooper pairs into two families of helical Andreev states of opposite helicity, one at each hinge. Here we provide evidence for such separation via the measurement and analysis of switching supercurrent statistics of a crystalline nanoring of bismuth. Using a phenomenological model of two helical Andreev hinge modes, we find that pairs relax at a rate comparable to individual quasiparticles, in contrast with the much faster pair relaxation of non-topological systems. This constitutes a unique tell-tale sign of the spatial separation of topological helical hinges.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Realizing Majorana zero modes in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures

Realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes in the laboratory is one of the major goals in condensed matter physics. We review the current status of this rapidly-developing field, focusing on semiconductor-superconductor proposals for topological superconductivity. Material science progress and robust signatures of Majorana zero modes in recent experiments are discussed. After a brief introduction to the subject, we outline several next-generation experiments probing exotic properties of Majorana zero modes, including fusion rules and non-Abelian exchange statistics. Finally, we discuss prospects for implementing Majorana-based topological quantum computation in these systems.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Measuring the Luttinger liquid parameter with shot noise

We explore the low-frequency noise of interacting electrons in a one-dimensional structure (quantum wire or interaction-coupled edge states) with counterpropagating modes, assuming a single channel in each direction. The system is driven out of equilibrium by a quantum point contact (QPC) with an applied voltage, which induces a double-step energy distribution of incoming electrons on one side of the device. A second QPC serves to explore the statistics of outgoing electrons. We show that measurement of a low-frequency noise in such a setup allows one to extract the Luttinger liquid constant $K$ which is the key parameter characterizing an interacting 1D system. We evaluate the dependence of the zero-frequency noise on $K$ and on parameters of both QPCs (transparencies and voltages).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Quantum Phase Transitions in Quantum Dots

This review article describes theoretical and experimental advances in using quantum dots as a system for studying impurity quantum phase transitions and the non-Fermi liquid behavior at the quantum critical point.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Pseudospin-Resolved Transport Spectroscopy of the Kondo Effect in a Double Quantum Dot

We report measurements of the Kondo effect in a double quantum dot (DQD), where the orbital states act as pseudospin states whose degeneracy contributes to Kondo screening. Standard transport spectroscopy as a function of the bias voltage on both dots shows a zero-bias peak in conductance, analogous to that observed for spin Kondo in single dots. Breaking the orbital degeneracy splits the Kondo resonance in the tunneling density of states above and below the Fermi energy of the leads, with the resonances having different pseudospin character. Using pseudospin-resolved spectroscopy, we demonstrate the pseudospin character by observing a Kondo peak at only one sign of the bias voltage. We show that even when the pseudospin states have very different tunnel rates to the leads, a Kondo temperature can be consistently defined for the DQD system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Fractional charges on an integer quantum Hall edge

We propose ways to create and detect fractionally charged excitations in \emph{integer} quantum Hall edge states. The charge fractionalization occurs due to the Coulomb interaction between electrons propagating on different edge channels. The fractional charge of the soliton-like collective excitations can be observed in time resolved or frequency dependent shot noise measurements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Luttinger liquid behavior in weakly disordered quantum wires

We have measured the temperature dependence of the conductance in long V-groove quantum wires (QWRs) fabricated in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Our data is consistent with recent theories developed within the framework of the Luttinger liquid model, in the limit of weakly disordered wires. We show that for the relatively small amount of disorder in our QWRs, the value of the interaction parameter g is g=0.66, which is the expected value for GaAs. However, samples with a higher level of disorder show conductance with stronger temperature dependence, which does not allow their treatment in the framework of perturbation theory. Trying to fit such data with perturbation-theory models leads inevitably to wrong (lower) values of g.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Persistent current in small superconducting rings

We study theoretically the contribution of fluctuating Cooper pairs to the persistent current in superconducting rings threaded by a magnetic flux. For sufficiently small rings, in which the coherence length $ξ$ exceeds the radius $R$, mean field theory predicts a full reduction of the transition temperature to zero near half-integer flux. We find that nevertheless a very large current is expected to persist in the ring as a consequence of Cooper pair fluctuations that do not condense. For larger rings with $R\gg ξ$ we calculate analytically the susceptibility in the critical region of strong fluctuations and show that it reflects competition of two interacting complex order parameters.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Mesoscopic to universal crossover of transmission phase of multi-level quantum dots

Transmission phase αmeasurements of many-electron quantum dots (small mean level spacing δ) revealed universal phase lapses by πbetween consecutive resonances. In contrast, for dots with only a few electrons (large δ), the appearance or not of a phase lapse depends on the dot parameters. We show that a model of a multi-level quantum dot with local Coulomb interactions and arbitrary level-lead couplings reproduces the generic features of the observed behavior. The universal behavior of αfor small δfollows from Fano-type antiresonances of the renormalized single-particle levels.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Phase lapses in transmission through interacting two-level quantum dots

We investigate the appearance of pi lapses in the transmission phase theta of a two-level quantum dot with Coulomb interaction U. Using the numerical and functional renormalization group methods we study the entire parameter space for spin-polarized as well as spin-degenerate dots, modeled by spinless or spinful electrons, respectively. We investigate the effect of finite temperatures T. For small T and sufficiently small single-particle spacings delta of the dot levels we find pi phase lapses between two transmission peaks in an overwhelming part of the parameter space of the level-lead couplings. For large delta the appearance or not of a phase lapse between resonances depends on the relative sign of the level-lead couplings in analogy to the U=0 case. We show that this generic scenario is the same for spin-polarized and spin-degenerate dots. We emphasize that in contrast to dots with more levels, for a two-level dot with small delta and generic dot-lead couplings (that is up to cases with special symmetry) the "universal" phase lapse behavior is already established at U=0. The most important effect of the Coulomb interaction is to increase the separation of the transmission resonances. The relation of the appearance of phase lapses to the inversion of the population of the dot levels is discussed. For the spin-polarized case and low temperatures we compare our results to recent mean-field studies. For small delta correlations are found to strongly alter the mean-field picture.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Magnetic field induced two-channel Kondo effect in multiple quantum dots

We study the possibility to observe the two channel Kondo physics in multiple quantum dot heterostructures in the presence of magnetic field. We show that a fine tuning of the coupling parameters of the system and an external magnetic field may stabilize the two channel Kondo critical point. We make predictions for behavior of the scaling of the differential conductance in the vicinity of the quantum critical point, as a function of magnetic field, temperature and source-drain potential.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Comment on "Theoretical analysis of the transmission phase shift of a quantum dot in the presence of Kondo correlations"

Recently, A. Jerez, P. Vitushinsky and M. Lavagna [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 127203 (2005)] claimed that the transmission phase through a quantum fot, as measured via the Aharonov-Bohm interferometer, differs from the phase which determines the corresponding conductance. Here we show that this claim is wrong for the single level Anderson model, which is usually used to describe the quantum dot. So far, there exists no derivation of this claim from any explicit theoretical model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Anomalous Chiral Luttinger Liquid Behavior of Diluted Fractionally Charged Quasiparticles

Fractionally charged quasiparticles in edge states, are expected to condense to a chiral Luttinger liquid (CLL). We studied their condensation by measuring the conductance and shot noise due to an artificial backscatterer embedded in their path. At sufficiently low temperatures backscattering events were found to be strongly correlated, producing a highly non-linear current-voltage characteristic and a non-classical shot noise - both are expected in a CLL. When, however, the impinging beam of quasiparticles was made dilute, either artificially via an additional weak backscatterer or by increasing the temperature, the resultant outgoing noise was classical, indicating the scattering of independent quasiparticles. Here, we study in some detail this surprising crossover from correlated particle behavior to an independent behavior, as function of beam dilution.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

The magnetic response of disordered metallic rings: the large contribution of the far levels

We calculate the orbital linear magnetic response of disordered metallic rings to an Aharonov-Bohm flux using the BCS model for attractive electron-electron interaction. The contribution of all levels including those up to a high energy cutoff results in a much larger value than previously obtained using the local interaction model. The possible relevance of our results to the resolution of the discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical values for the ensemble-averaged persistent currents in these systems is discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Pairing and persistent currents - the role of the far levels

We calculate the orbital magnetic response to Aharonov Bohm flux of disordered metallic rings with attractive pairing interaction. We consider the reduced BCS model, and obtain the result as an expansion of its exact solution to first order in the interaction. We emphasize the connection between the large magnetic response and the finite occupation of high energy levels in the many-body ground state of the ring.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2000

Spin orbit effects in a GaAs quantum dot in a parallel magnetic field

We analyze the effects of spin-orbit coupling on fluctuations of the conductance of a quantum dot fabricated in a GaAs heterostructure. We argue that spin-orbit effects may become important in the presence of a large parallel magnetic field B_{||}, even if they are negligble for B_{||}=0. This should be manifest in the level repulsion of a closed dot, and in reduced conductance fluctuations in dots with a small number of open channels in each lead, for large B_{||}. Our picture is consistent with the experimental observations of Folk et al.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗