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Yukio Tanaka

Publications and source records attributed to Yukio Tanaka.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Anomalous Proximity Effect of Planer Topological Josephson Junctions

The anomalous proximity effect in dirty superconducting junctions is one of most striking phenomena highlighting the profound nature of Majorana bound states and odd-frequency Cooper pairs in topological superconductors. Motivated by the recent experimental realization of planar topological Josephson junctions, we describe the anomalous proximity effect in a superconductor/semiconductor hybrid, where an additional dirty normal-metal segment is extended from a topological Josephson junction. The topological phase transition in the topological Josephson junction is accompanied by a drastic change in the low-energy transport properties of the attached dirty normal-metal. The quantization of the zero-bias differential conductance, which appears only in the topologically nontrivial phase, is caused by the penetration of the Majorana bound states and odd-frequency Cooper pairs into a dirty normal-metal segment. As a consequence, we propose a practical experiment for observing the anomalous proximity effect.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Orbital tunable 0-$π$ transitions in Josephson junctions with noncentrosymmetric topological superconductors

We investigate the Josephson transport properties in a Josephson junction consisting of a conventional $s$-wave superconductor coupled to a multi-orbital noncentrosymmetric superconductor marked by an orbitally driven inversion asymmetry and isotropic interorbital spin-triplet pairing. Contrary to the canonical single band noncentrosymmetric superconductor, we demonstrate that the local interorbital spin-triplet pairing is tied to the occurrence of sign-changing spin-singlet pair amplitude on different bands with $d$-wave symmetry. Such multi-band $d^{\pm}$-wave state is a unique superconducting configuration that drives unexpected Josephson effects with 0-$π$ transitions displaying a high degree of electronic control. Remarkably, we find that the phase state of a noncentrosymmetric/$s$-wave Josephson junction can be toggled between 0 and $π$ in multiple ways through a variation of electron filling, strength of the spin-orbital coupling, amplitude of the inversion asymmetry interaction, and junction transparency. These results highlight an intrinsic orbital and electrical tunability of the Josephson response and provide unique paths to unveil the nature of unconventional multiorbital superconductivity as well as inspire innovative designs of Josephson quantum devices.

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Bulk odd-frequency pairing in the superconducting Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model

The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model describes fermions that hop on a one-dimensional chain with staggered hopping amplitude, where the unit cell contains two sites, or two sublattices. In this work we consider the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with superconducting pairing and show that the sublattice index acts as an additional quantum number in the classification of Cooper pairs, giving rise to inter- and intra-sublattice odd-frequency pair correlations in the bulk. Interestingly, this system behaves as a two band superconductor where the bulk odd-frequency correlations depend solely on the intrinsic staggering properties of the model. In general, odd-frequency correlations coexist with even-frequency correlations in both the trivial and topological phases, with comparable and even larger odd-frequency amplitudes at the topological phase transition points at low frequencies, due to the closing of the energy gap at these points. Furthermore, we also discuss how bulk odd-frequency amplitudes are correlated with pseudo-gaps in the density of states and also with a charge density wave that appears due to the chemical potential imbalance between sublattices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Theory of Tunneling Effect in 1D AIII-class Topological Insulator (Nanowire) Proximity Coupled with a Superconductor

We study the tunneling effect in an AIII-class insulator proximity coupled with a spin-singlet $s$-wave superconductor, in which three phases are characterized by the integer topological invariant $\mathcal{N}$. By solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation explicitly, we analytically obtain a normal reflection coefficient $R_{σσ'}$ and an Andreev reflection coefficient $A_{σσ'}$, and derive a charge conductance formula,where $σ(σ')$ is the spin index of a reflected (injected) wave. The resulting conductance indicates a wide variety of line shapes: (i)gap structure without coherence peaks for $\mathcal{N}=0$, (ii)quantized zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) with height $2e^{2}/h$ for $\mathcal{N}=1$, and (iii)ZBCP spitting for $\mathcal{N}=2$. At zero bias voltage $eV=0$, $\sum_{σσ'} R_{σσ'} = \sum_{σσ'} A_{σσ'}$ is satisfied and the spin direction of an injected electron is rotated at approximately $90^\circ$ for the $\mathcal{N}=1$ state. Meanwhile, $A_{σσ'}=0$ is satisfied for the $\mathcal{N}=2$ state, and the spin rotation angle can become $180^\circ$.

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Spin Hall conductivity in topological Dirac semimetals

We theoretically investigate the spin Hall conductivity (SHC) in topological Dirac semimetals (TDSMs) whose Dirac points are protected by rotational symmetry. On the basis of a general phase diagram of the system with time-reversal, inversion and four-fold rotational symmetries, we reveal that the SHC is sensitive to the phase to which the system belong. The phase and the SHC are characterized by the mirror Chern numbers and the presence or absence of gapless bulk Dirac points. It is also found that the representative TDSM Cd$_3$As$_2$ supports a large and negative SHC $σ_{xy}^z\sim -10^4 (\hbar/e) (Ω.\textrm{m})^{-1}$. The principle behind the dependency of SHC on the phase diagram is also explained.

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Identifying possible pairing states in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ by tunneling spectroscopy

We examine the tunneling spectroscopy of three-dimensional normal-metal/Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ junctions as an experimental means to identify pairing symmetry in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. In particular, we consider three different possible pairing states in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$: spin-singlet chiral $d$-wave, spin-triplet helical $p$-wave, and spin-nematic $f$-wave ones, all of which are consistent with recent nuclear-magnetic-resonance experiments [A. Pustogow et al., Nature 574, 72 (2019)]. The Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk theory is employed to calculate the tunneling conductance, and the cylindrical two-dimensional Fermi surface of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is properly taken into account as an anisotropic effective mass and a cutoff in the momentum integration. It is pointed out that the chiral $d$-wave pairing state is inconsistent with previous tunneling conductance experiments along the $c$-axis. We also find that the remaining candidates, the spin-triplet helical $p$-wave pairing state and the spin-nematic $f$-wave ones, can be distinguished from each other by the in-plane tunneling spectroscopy along the $a$- and $b$-axes.

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Odd-frequency pairing and proximity effect in Kitaev chain systems including topological critical point

In this paper, we investigate the relation between odd-frequency pairing and proximity effect in non-uniform Kitaev chain systems with a particular interest in the topological critical point. First, we correlate the odd-frequency pairing and Majorana fermion in a semi-infinite Kitaev chain, where we find that the spatial dependence of the odd-frequency pair amplitude coincides with that of the local density of states at low frequencies. Second, we demonstrate that, contrary to the standard view, the odd-frequency pair amplitude spreads into the bulk of a semi-infinite Kitaev chain at the topological critical point. Finally, we show that odd-frequency Cooper pairs cause the proximity effect in a normal metal/diffusive normal metal/ Kitaev chain junction even at the topological critical point. Our results hold relevance to the investigation of odd-frequency pairing and topological superconductivity in more complicated systems that involve Rashba nanowire with magnetic fields.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Time-Reversal Invariant Superconductivity of Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ Revealed by Josephson Effects

Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ is one of the most promising candidates of a topological superconductor with broken time-reversal symmetry, because a number of experiments have revealed evidences for a spin-triplet chiral $p$-wave superconductivity. In order to clarify the time-reversal symmetry of Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$, we introduce a novel test that examines the invariance of the Josephson critical current under the inversion of both the current and magnetic fields, in contrast to the detection of a spontaneous magnetic field employed in past experiments. Analyses of the transport properties of the planar and corner Josephson junctions formed between Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$ and Nb reveal the time-reversal invariant superconductivity, most probably helical $p$-wave, of Sr$_{2}$RuO$_{4}$. This state corresponds to a yet-to-be confirmed $topological crystalline superconductivity$ that can host two Majorana edge modes at the surface protected by crystalline mirror symmetry.

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Spin-Orbital Hallmarks of Unconventional Superconductors Without Inversion Symmetry

The spin-orbital polarization of superconducting excitations in momentum space is shown to provide distinctive marks of unconventional pairing in the presence of inversion symmetry breaking.Taking the prototypical example of an electronic system with atomic spin-orbit and orbital-Rashba couplings, we provide a general description of the spin-orbital textures and their most striking changeover moving from the normal to the superconducting state. We find that the variation of the spin-texture is strongly imprinted by the combination of the misalignment of spin-triplet d-vector with the inversion asymmetry g-vector coupling and the occurrence of superconducting nodal excitations. Remarkably, the multi-orbital character of the superconducting state allows to unveil a unique type of topological transition for the spin-winding around the nodal points. This finding indicates the fundamental topological relation between chiral and spin-winding in nodal superconductors. By analogy between spin- and orbital-triplet pairing we point out how orbital polarization patterns can be also employed to assess the character of the superconducting state.

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Spin-polarized multiple Andreev reflections in spin-split superconductors

We study the transport properties of a voltage biased contact between two spin-split superconductors separated by an insulating barrier of arbitrary transparency. At low transparency, the contribution of multiple Andreev reflections leads to a subharmonic gap structure that crucially depends on the amplitude and relative angle of the spin-splitting fields of each superconductor. For non-collinear fields, we find an interesting even-odd effect on the bound states within the gap, where the odd order multiple Andreev reflections split, but the even order ones remain at their expected positions. By computing the current-voltage characteristics, we determine the transparency required for the emergence of a subharmonic gap structure and show that the splitting of the odd bound states is associated with different threshold energies of spin-polarized Andreev processes. Our findings provide a tool to experimentally determine the amplitude and orientation of Zeeman fields in spin-split superconductors.

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Theory of Josephson Current on a Magnetically Doped Topological Insulator

Proximity induced superconducting states in the surface of magnetically doped topological insulators can host chiral Majorana modes. We consider a Josephson junction in that system with changing the chemical potential, which drives a topological phase transition in the induced superconducting states as well as a metal-insulator transition in the surface states. The local density of states and the Josephson current are analytically calculated by McMillan's Green's function method in terms of the Andreev reflection coefficient. We show that although the magnitude of the Josephson current is greatly enhanced when the surface state changes from insulating to metallic, its temperature dependence drastically changes at the topological phase transition point, reflecting the appearance of the chiral Majorana modes

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Theory of proximity effect in two-dimensional unconventional superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We study the anomalous proximity effect in diffusive normal metal (DN)/unconventional superconductor junctions, where the local density of states (LDOS) in the DN has a zero-energy peak due to the penetration of the odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave pairing. In this study, we consider a two-dimensional unconventional superconductor on the substrate in the presence of a Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) $λ$, where the Rashba vector is parallel to the $z$-direction. The anomalous proximity effect, originally predicted in spin-triplet $p$-wave superconductor junctions, is sensitive to the RSOC. It disappears with the increase of $λ$. On the other hand, the anomalous proximity effect can be switched on by the large $λ$ values in the spin-singlet $d_{xy}$-wave superconductor junctions. The resulting zero-energy LDOS and the magnitude of the odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave pair amplitude increase with the increase of $λ$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

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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Odd-Frequency Pairs in Chiral Symmetric Systems: Spectral Bulk-Boundary Correspondence and Topological Criticality

Odd-frequency Cooper pairs with chiral symmetry emerging at the edges of topological superconductors are a useful physical quantity for characterizing the topological properties of these materials. In this work, we show that the odd-frequency Cooper pair amplitudes can be expressed by a winding number extended to a nonzero frequency, which is called a `spectral bulk-boundary correspondence,' and can be evaluated from the spectral features of the bulk. The odd-frequency Cooper pair amplitudes are classified into two categories: the amplitudes in the first category have the singular functional form $\sim 1/z$ (where $z$ is a complex frequency) that reflects the presence of a topological surface Andreev bound state, whereas the amplitudes in the second category have the regular form $\sim z$ and are regarded as non-topological. We discuss the topological phase transition by using the coefficient in the latter category, which undergoes a power-law divergence at the topological phase transition point and is used to indicate the distance to the critical point. These concepts are established based on several concrete models, including a Rashba nanowire system that is promising for realizing Majorana fermions.

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Spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effects in transition-metal dichalcogenides

In transition-metal dichalcogenides, electrons in the K-valleys can experience both Ising and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. In this work, we show that the coexistence of Ising and Rashba spin-orbit couplings leads to a special type of valley Hall effect, which we call spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effect. Importantly, near the conduction band edge, the valley-dependent Berry curvatures generated by spin-orbit couplings are highly tunable by external gates and dominate over the intrinsic Berry curvatures originating from orbital degrees of freedom under accessible experimental conditions. We show that the spin-orbit coupling induced valley Hall effect is manifested in the gate dependence of the valley Hall conductivity, which can be detected by Kerr effect experiments.

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Platform of chiral Majorana edge modes and its quantum transport phenomena

We propose a method to create two-dimensional topological superconductors with a heterostructure of ferromagnet (FM), topological insulator (TI) thin film and superconductor, in which the two surfaces of the TI thin film are treated as a two-dimensional system. One of surfaces is superconducting due to proximity effect and the other feels an exchange field from the FM. We show that there is a topological phase with single chiral Majorana edge mode that exists in readily achievable parameter regions and does not require magnetization to be small. An experimental setup is proposed based on our model to uniquely determine the existence of Majorana chiral modes using a Josephson junction. Also, we show that multiple chiral Majorana edge modes may appear when unconventional superconductors are used.

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Majorana multipole response of topological superconductors

In contrast to elementary Majorana particles, emergent Majorana fermions (MFs) in condensed-matter systems may have electromagnetic multipoles. We developed a general theory of magnetic multipoles for surface helical MFs on time-reversal-invariant superconductors. The results show that the multipole response is governed by crystal symmetry, and that a one-to-one correspondence exists between the symmetry of Cooper pairs and the representation of magnetic multipoles under crystal symmetry. The latter property provides a way to identify nonconventional pairing symmetry via the magnetic response of surface MFs. We also find that most helical MFs exhibit a magnetic-dipole response, but those on superconductors with spin-3/2 electrons may display a magnetic-octupole response in leading order, which uniquely characterizes high-spin superconductors. Detection of such an octupole response provides direct evidence of high-spin superconductivity, such as in half-Heusler superconductors.

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Influence of edge magnetization and electric fields on zigzag silicene, germanene and stanene nanoribbons

Using a multi-orbital tight-binding model, we have studied the edge states of zigzag silicene, germanene, and stanene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs and ZSnNRs, respectively) in the presence of the Coulomb interaction and a vertical electric field. The resulting edge states have non-linear energy dispersions due to multi-orbital effects, and the nanoribbons show induced magnetization at the edges. Owing to this non-linear dispersion, ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs and ZSnNRs may not provide superior performance in field effect transistors, as has been proposed from single-orbital tight-binding model calculations. We propose an effective low-energy model that describes the edge states of ZSiNRs, ZGeNRs, and ZSnNRs. We demonstrate that the edge states of ZGeNR and ZSnNR show anti-crossing of bands with opposite spins, even if only out-of-plane edge magnetization is present. The ability to tune the spin polarizations of the edge states by applying an electric field points to future opportunities to fabricate silicene, germanene and stanene nanoribbons as spintronics devices.

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