arXiv subjects

Yasuhiro Asano

Publications and source records attributed to Yasuhiro Asano.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Strong anomalous proximity effect from spin-singlet superconductors

The proximity effect from a spin-triplet $p_x$-wave superconductor to a dirty normal-metal has been shown to result in various unusual electromagnetic properties, reflecting a cooperative relation between topologically protected zero-energy quasiparticles and odd-frequency Cooper pairs. However, because of a lack of candidate materials for spin-triplet $p_x$-wave superconductors, observing this effect has been difficult. In this paper, we demonstrate that the anomalous proximity effect, which is essentially equivalent to that of a spin-triplet $p_x$-wave superconductor, can occur in a semiconductor/high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductor hybrid device in which two potentials coexist: a spin-singlet $d$-wave pair potential and a spin--orbit coupling potential sustaining the persistent spin-helix state. As a result, we propose an alternative and promising route to observe the anomalous proximity effect related to the profound nature of topologically protected quasiparticles and odd-frequency Cooper pairs.

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arXiv2021

Odd-parity pairing correlations in a d-wave superconductor

We theoretically study the effects of spin-orbit interactions on symmetry of a Cooper pair in a spin-singlet d-wave superconductor in two-dimension. The pairing symmetry is analyzed in terms of the anomalous Green's function which is obtained by solving the Gor'kov equation analytically. A spin-orbit interaction induces a spin-triplet p-wave pairing correlation in a uniform superconductor. An odd-frequency spin-triplet s-wave pairing correlation appears at a surface of such superconductor as a result of breaking inversion symmetry locally. We also discuss a close relationship among the odd-frequency pairing correlation, chirality of surface bound states at the zero energy, and the anomalous proximity effect. The obtained results enable us to design a superconductor which causes the strong anomalous proximity effect.

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arXiv2021

Josephson effect of superconductors with $J=3/2$ electrons

The angular momentum of an electron is characterized well by pseudospin with $J=3/2$ in the presence of strong spin-orbit interactions. We study theoretically the Josephson effect of superconductors in which such two $J=3/2$ electrons form a Cooper pair. Within even-parity symmetry class, pseudospin-quintet pairing states with $J=2$ can exist as well as pseudospin-singlet state with $J=0$. We focus especially on the Josephson selection rule among these even-parity superconductors. We find that the selection rule between quintet states is severer than that between spin-triplet states formed by two $S=1/2$ electrons. The effects of a pseudospin-active interface on the selection rule are discussed as well as those of odd-frequency Cooper pairs generated by pseudospin dependent band structures.

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arXiv2020

Superconductivity in Cu-doped Bi$_2$Se$_3$ with potential disorder

We study the effects of random nonmagnetic impurities on superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ in a Cu-doped Bi$_2$Se$_3$, for which four types of pair potentials have been proposed. Although all the candidates belong to $s$-wave symmetry, two orbital degree of freedom in electronic structures enriches the symmetry variety of a Cooper pair such as even-orbital-parity and odd-orbital-parity. We consider realistic electronic structures of Cu-doped Bi$_2$Se$_3$ by using tight-binding Hamiltonian on a hexagonal lattice and consider effects of impurity scatterings through the self-energy of the Green's function within the Born approximation. We find that even-orbital-parity spin-singlet superconductivity is basically robust even in the presence of impurities. The degree of the robustness depends on the electronic structures in the normal state and on the pairing symmetry in orbital space. On the other hand, two odd-orbital-parity spin-triplet order parameters are always fragile in the presence of potential disorder.

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arXiv2020

Nodal Andreev Spectra in Multi-Majorana Three-Terminal Josephson Junctions

We investigate the Andreev-bound-state (ABS) spectra of three-terminal Josephson junctions which consist of 1D topological superconductors (TSCs) harboring multiple zero-energy edge Majorana bound states (MBSs) protected by chiral symmetry. Our theoretical analysis relies on the exact numerical diagonalization of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) Hamiltonian describing the three interfaced TSCs, complemented by an effective low-energy description solely based on the coupling of the interfacial MBSs arising before the leads get contacted. Considering the 2D synthetic space spanned by the two independent superconducting phase differences, we demonstrate that the ABS spectra may contain either point or line nodes, and identify $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological invariants to classify them. We show that the resulting type of nodes depends on the number of preexisting interfacial MBSs, with nodal lines necessarily appearing when two TSCs harbor an unequal number of MBSs. Specifically, the precise number of interfacial MBSs determines the periodicity of the spectrum under $2π$-slidings of the phase differences and, as a result, also controls the shape of the nodal lines in synthetic space. When chiral symmetry is preserved, the lines are open and coincide with high-symmetry lines of synthetic space, while when it is violated the lines can also transform into loops and chains. The nodal spectra are robust by virtue of the inherent particle-hole symmetry of the BdG Hamiltonian, and give rise to distinctive experimental signatures that we identify.

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arXiv2020

Unusual Superconducting Proximity Effect in Magnetically Doped Topological Josephson Junctions

The transport properties of a topological Josephson junction fabricated from a magnetically doped topological insulator (TI) were investigated. The conductance spectra of the Nb/Fe-Bi$_2$Te$_2$Se/Nb junction below 1 K showed an unusual trident-shaped zero-bias conductance peak with a tiny peak width of $\sim$ 6 $μ$V. The central peak of the trident peak presents the dc-Josephson current, and the side peaks may reflect an induced unconventional Cooper pairing. Additionally, the critical currents followed inverse to temperature, which may also reflect the presence of an unconventional proximity effect. Furthermore, microwave irradiation derived a drastic change in the conductance spectra from the peak structure into oscillatory ones, a hallmark of the ac-Josephson supercurrent. The current-phase relation of the ac-Josephson effect under high power radiofrequency-irradiation was found to be 4$π$-periodic. The results suggest that the junction based on magnetically doped 3D TIs may realize an unconventional Cooper pairing, thus enabling access to the basic physics of Majorana bound states and unconventional superconductivity.

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arXiv2019

Josephson effect in two-band superconductors

We study theoretically the Josephson effect between two time-reversal two-band superconductors, where we assume the equal-time spin-singlet $s$-wave pair potential in each conduction band. %as well as the band asymmetry and the band hybridization in the normal state. The superconducting phase at the first band $φ_1$ and that at the second band $φ_2$ characterize a two-band superconducting state. We consider a Josephson junction where an insulating barrier separates two such two-band superconductors. By applying the tunnel Hamiltonian description, the Josephson current is calculated in terms of the anomalous Green's function on either side of the junction. We find that the Josephson current consists of three components which depend on three types of phase differences across the junction: the phase difference at the first band $δφ_1$, the phase difference at the second band $δφ_2$, and the difference at the center-of-mass phase $δ(φ_1+φ_2)/2$. A Cooper pairs generated by the band hybridization carries the last current component. In some cases, the current-phase relationship deviates from the sinusoidal function as a result of time-reversal symmetry breaking down.

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arXiv2019

Anomalous Nonlocal Conductance as a Fingerprint of Chiral Majorana Edge States

Chiral $p$-wave superconductor is the primary example of topological systems hosting chiral Majorana edge states. Although candidate materials exist, the conclusive signature of chiral Majorana edge states has not yet been observed in experiments. Here we propose a smoking-gun experiment to detect the chiral Majorana edge states on the basis of theoretical results for the nonlocal conductance in a device consisting of a chiral $p$-wave superconductor and two ferromagnetic leads. The chiral nature of Majorana edge states causes an anomalously long-range and chirality-sensitive nonlocal transport in these junctions. These two drastic features enable us to identify the moving direction of chiral Majorana edge states in the single experimental setup.

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arXiv2019

Effects of the phase coherence on the local density of states in superconducting proximity structures

We theoretically study the local density of states in superconducting proximity structure where two superconducting terminals are attached to a side surface of a normal-metal wire. Using the quasiclassical Green's function method, the energy spectrum is obtained for both of spin-singlet $s$-wave and spin-triplet $p$-wave junctions. In both of the cases, the decay length of the proximity effect at the zero temperature is limited by a depairing effect due to inelastic scatterings. In addition to the depairing effect, in $p$-wave junctions, the decay length depends sensitively on the transparency at the junction interfaces, which is a unique property to odd-parity superconductors where the anomalous proximity effect occurs.

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arXiv2019

Proximity effect in a ferromagnetic semiconductor with spin-orbit interactions

We study theoretically the proximity effect in a ferromagnetic semiconductor with Rashba spin-orbit interaction. The exchange potential generates opposite-spin-triplet Cooper pairs which are transformed into equal-spin-triplet pairs by the spin-orbit interaction. In the limit of strong spin-orbit interaction, symmetry of the dominant Cooper pair depends on the degree of disorder in a ferromagnet. In the clean limit, spin-singlet $s$-wave Cooper pairs are the most dominant because the spin-momentum locking stabilizes a Cooper pair consisting of a time-reversal partner. In the dirty limit, on the other hand, equal-spin-triplet $s$-wave pairs are dominant because random impurity potentials release the locking. We also discuss the effects of the spin-orbit interaction on the Josephson current.

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arXiv2018

Dirty two-band superconductivity with interband pairing order

We study theoretically the effects of random nonmagnetic impurities on the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ in a two-band superconductor characterized by an equal-time s-wave interband pairing order parameter. The Fermi-Dirac statistics of electrons allows a spin-triplet s-wave pairing order as well as a spin-singlet s-wave order parameter due to the two-band degree of freedom. In a spin-singlet superconductor, $T_c$ is insensitive to the impurity concentration when we estimate the self-energy due to the random impurity potential within the Born approximation. On the other hand in a spin-triplet superconductor, $T_c$ decreases with the increase of the impurity concentration. We conclude that Cooper pairs belonging to odd-band-parity symmetry class are fragile under the random impurity potential even though they have s-wave pairing symmetry.

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arXiv2018

Green function theory of dirty two-band superconductivity

We study the effects of random nonmagnetic impurities on the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ in a two-band superconductor, where we assume the equal-time spin-singlet s-wave pair potential in each conduction band and the hybridization between the two bands as well as the band asymmetry. In the clean limit, the phase of hybridization determines the stability of two states: called $s_{++}$ and $s_{+-}$. The interband impurity scatterings decrease $T_c$ of the two states exactly in the same manner when the Hamiltonian preserves time-reversal symmetry. We find that a superconductor with larger hybridization shows more moderate suppression of $T_c$. This effect can be explained by the presence of odd-frequency Cooper pairs which are generated by the band hybridization in the clean limit and are broken by impurities.

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arXiv2018

Symmetry conditions of a nodal superconductor for generating robust flat-band Andreev bound states at its dirty surface

We discuss the symmetry property of a nodal superconductor that hosts robust flat-band zero-energy states at its surface under potential disorder. Such robust zero-energy states are known to induce the anomalous proximity effect in a dirty normal metal attached to a superconductor. A recent study has shown that a topological index ${\cal N}_\mathrm{ZES}$ describes the number of zero-energy states at the dirty surface of a $p$-wave superconductor. We generalize the theory to clarify the conditions required for a superconductor that enables ${\cal N}_\mathrm{ZES}\neq 0$. Our results show that ${\cal N}_\mathrm{ZES}\neq 0$ is realized in a topological material that belongs to either the BDI or CII class. We also present two realistic Hamiltonians that result in ${\cal N}_\mathrm{ZES}\neq 0$.

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arXiv2017

Tunable $φ$-Josephson junction with a quantum anomalous Hall insulator

We theoretically study the Josephson current in a superconductor/quantum anomalous Hall insulator/superconductor junction by using the lattice Green function technique. When an in-plane external Zeeman field is applied to the quantum anomalous Hall insulator, the Josephson current $J$ flows without a phase difference across the junction $θ$. The phase shift $φ$ appealing in the current-phase relationship $J\propto \sin(θ-φ$) is proportional to the amplitude of Zeeman fields and depends on the direction of Zeeman fields. A phenomenological analysis of the Andreev reflection processes explains the physical origin of $φ$. A quantum anomalous Hall insulator breaks time-reversal symmetry and mirror reflection symmetry simultaneously. However it preserves magnetic mirror reflection symmetry. Such characteristic symmetry property enable us to have a tunable $φ$-junction with a quantum Hall insulator.

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arXiv2017

Josephson effect in a multi-orbital model for Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$

We study Josephson current between s-wave/spin-triplet superconductor junctions by taking into account details of band structures in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ such as three conduction bands, spin-orbit interaction in the bulk and that at the interface. We assume five superconducting order parameters in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$: a chiral p-wave symmetry and four helical p-wave symmetries. We calculate current-phase relationship $I(φ)$ in these junctions, where $φ$ is the macroscopic phase difference between two superconductors. The results for a chiral p-wave pairing symmetry show that $\cos(φ)$ term appears in the current-phase relation due to time-reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking. On the other hand, $\cos(φ)$ term is absent in the helical pairing states which preserve the TRS. We also study the dependence of maximum Josephson current $I_c$ on an external magnetic flux $Φ$ in a corner junction. The calculated results of $I_c(Φ)$ show a relation $I_{c}(Φ) \neq I_{c}(-Φ)$ in a chiral state and $I_{c}(Φ)=I_{c}(-Φ)$ in a helical state. We calculate $I_c(Φ)$ in a corner and a symmetric SQUIDs geometry. In a symmetric SQUID geometry, the relation $I_{c}(Φ)=I_{c}(-Φ)$ is satisfied for all the pairing states and it is impossible to distinguish chiral state from helical one. On the other hand, results for a corner SQUID always show $I_{c}(Φ) \neq I_{c}(-Φ)$ and $I_{c}(Φ)=I_{c}(-Φ)$ for a chiral and a helical states, respectively. Experimental tests of these relations in a corner junctions and SQUIDs may serve as a tool for unambiguous determination of the pairing symmetry in Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$.

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arXiv2017

Stability of flat zero-energy states at the dirty surface of a nodal superconductor

We discuss the stability of highly degenerate zero-energy states tha appear at the surface of a nodal superconductor preserving time-reversal symmetry. The existence of such surface states is a direct consequence of the nontrivial topological numbers defined in the restricted Brillouin zones in the clean limit. In experiments, however, potential disorder is inevitable near the surface of a real superconductor, which may lift the high degeneracy at zero energy. We show that an index defined in terms of the chiral eigenvalues of the zero-energy states can be used to measure the degree of degeneracy at zero energy in the presence of potential disorder. We also discuss the relationship between the index and the topological numbers.

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arXiv2016

Spontaneous edge current in a small chiral superconductor with a rough surface

We study theoretically the spontaneous edge current in a small chiral superconductor with surface roughness. We obtained self-consistent solutions of the pair potential and the vector potential by solving the quasiclassical Eilenberger equation and the Maxwell equation simultaneously. We then employed them to calculate numerically the spatial distribution of the chiral edge current in a small superconductor. The characteristic behavior of the spontaneous edge current depends strongly on the symmetries of the order parameters such as chiral $p$-, chiral $d$- and chiral $f$-wave pairing. The edge current is robust under the surface roughness in the chiral $p$- and chiral $d$-wave superconductors. In the chiral $d$-wave case, the surface roughness tends to flip the direction of the chiral current. On the other hand, the edge current in a chiral $f$-wave superconductor is fragile when there is surface roughness. We also discuss the temperature dependence of a spontaneous magnetization, which is a measurable value in standard experiments.

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arXiv2016

Influence of the impurity scattering on charge transport in unconventional superconductor junctions

We study the influence of non-magnetic impurity scatterings on the tunneling conductance of a junction consisting of a normal metal and a disordered unconventional superconductor by solving the quasiclassical Eilenberger equation self-consistently. We find that the impurity scatterings in both the Born and unitary limits affect the formation of the Andreev bound states and modify strongly the tunneling spectra around zero bias. Our results are interpreted well by the appearance of odd-frequency Cooper pairs near the interface and by the divergent behavior of the impurity self-energy. The present paper provides a useful tool to identify the pairing symmetry of unconventional superconductors in experiments.

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