Transport signatures of superconducting hybrids with mixed singlet and chiral triplet states

Pablo Burset, Felix Keidel, Yukio Tanaka, Naoto Nagaosa, and Björn Trauzettel
Phys. Rev. B 90, 085438 – Published 29 August 2014

Abstract

We propose a model for a superconductor where both spin-singlet and chiral triplet pairing amplitudes can coexist. By solving the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations with a general pair potential that accounts for both spin states we study experimental signatures of normal metal and superconductor hybrids. The interplay between the spin-singlet and triplet correlations manifests in the appearance of two effective gaps. When the amplitude of the spin-triplet component is stronger than that of the spin singlet, a topological phase transition into a nontrivial regime occurs. As a result, the normal metal–superconductor conductance evolves from a conventional gap profile onto an unconventional zero-bias peak. Additionally, in the topologically nontrivial phase, Andreev bound states formed at Josephson junctions present zero-energy modes; the number of those modes depends on the relative chirality of the junction. Finally, we present results for the current-phase relation and the temperature dependence of the Josephson critical current within both topological phases for several system parameters.

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  • Received 27 June 2014
  • Revised 5 August 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.085438

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Pablo Burset1, Felix Keidel1, Yukio Tanaka2, Naoto Nagaosa3,4, and Björn Trauzettel1

  • 1Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Würzburg, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany
  • 2Department of Applied Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
  • 3Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
  • 4RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), Wako 351-0198, Japan

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 8 — 15 August 2014

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