skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor{endash}Luttinger-liquid{endash}superconductor system

Abstract

We calculate both the dc and the ac Josephson current through a 1-D system of interacting electrons, connected to two superconductors by tunnel junctions. We treat the (repulsive) Coulomb interaction in the framework of the one-channel, spin-1/2 Luttinger model. The Josephson current is obtained for two geometries of experimental relevance: a quantum wire and a ring. At T=0, the critical current is found to decay algebraically with increasing distance {ital d} between the junctions. The decay is characterized by an exponent which depends on the strength of the interaction. At finite temperatures {ital T}, lower than the superconducting transition temperature {ital T}{sub {ital c}}, there is a crossover from algebraic to exponential decay of the critical current as a function of {ital d}, at a distance of the order of {h_bar}{ital v}{sub {ital F}}/{ital k}{sub {ital BT}}. Moreover, the dependence of critical current on temperature shows nonmonotonic behavior. If the Luttinger liquid is confined to a ring of circumference {ital L}, coupled capacitively to a gate voltage and threaded by a magnetic flux, the Josephson current shows remarkable parity effects under the variation of these parameters. For some values of the gate voltage and applied flux, the ring acts asmore » a {pi} junction. These features are robust against thermal fluctuations up to temperatures on the order of {h_bar}{ital v}{sub {ital F}}/{ital k}{sub {ital BL}}. For the wire geometry, we have also studied the ac-Josephson effect. The amplitude and the phase of the time-dependent Josephson current are affected by electron-electron interactions. Specifically, the amplitude shows pronounced oscillations as a function of the bias voltage due to the difference between the velocities of spin and charge excitations in the Luttinger liquid. Therefore, the ac-Josephson effect can be used as a tool for the observation of {ital spin}-{ital charge} separation. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Institut fuer Theoretische Festkoerperphysik, Universtitaet Karlsruhe, 76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)
  2. Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)
  3. Department of Applied Physics, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft (The Netherlands)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
282820
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 53; Journal Issue: 10; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
66 PHYSICS; SUPERCONDUCTORS; JOSEPHSON EFFECT; COULOMB FIELD; CRITICAL CURRENT; ELECTRON-ELECTRON INTERACTIONS; MAGNETIC FLUX; ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; TRANSITION TEMPERATURE

Citation Formats

Fazio, R, Istituto di Fisica, Universita di Catania, viale A. Doria 6, 95129 Catania, Hekking, F W, Odintsov, A A, and Nuclear Physics Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899 GSP. dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor{endash}Luttinger-liquid{endash}superconductor system. United States: N. p., 1996. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.53.6653.
Fazio, R, Istituto di Fisica, Universita di Catania, viale A. Doria 6, 95129 Catania, Hekking, F W, Odintsov, A A, & Nuclear Physics Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899 GSP. dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor{endash}Luttinger-liquid{endash}superconductor system. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.53.6653
Fazio, R, Istituto di Fisica, Universita di Catania, viale A. Doria 6, 95129 Catania, Hekking, F W, Odintsov, A A, and Nuclear Physics Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899 GSP. 1996. "dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor{endash}Luttinger-liquid{endash}superconductor system". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.53.6653.
@article{osti_282820,
title = {dc and ac Josephson effect in a superconductor{endash}Luttinger-liquid{endash}superconductor system},
author = {Fazio, R and Istituto di Fisica, Universita di Catania, viale A. Doria 6, 95129 Catania and Hekking, F W and Odintsov, A A and Nuclear Physics Institute, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899 GSP},
abstractNote = {We calculate both the dc and the ac Josephson current through a 1-D system of interacting electrons, connected to two superconductors by tunnel junctions. We treat the (repulsive) Coulomb interaction in the framework of the one-channel, spin-1/2 Luttinger model. The Josephson current is obtained for two geometries of experimental relevance: a quantum wire and a ring. At T=0, the critical current is found to decay algebraically with increasing distance {ital d} between the junctions. The decay is characterized by an exponent which depends on the strength of the interaction. At finite temperatures {ital T}, lower than the superconducting transition temperature {ital T}{sub {ital c}}, there is a crossover from algebraic to exponential decay of the critical current as a function of {ital d}, at a distance of the order of {h_bar}{ital v}{sub {ital F}}/{ital k}{sub {ital BT}}. Moreover, the dependence of critical current on temperature shows nonmonotonic behavior. If the Luttinger liquid is confined to a ring of circumference {ital L}, coupled capacitively to a gate voltage and threaded by a magnetic flux, the Josephson current shows remarkable parity effects under the variation of these parameters. For some values of the gate voltage and applied flux, the ring acts as a {pi} junction. These features are robust against thermal fluctuations up to temperatures on the order of {h_bar}{ital v}{sub {ital F}}/{ital k}{sub {ital BL}}. For the wire geometry, we have also studied the ac-Josephson effect. The amplitude and the phase of the time-dependent Josephson current are affected by electron-electron interactions. Specifically, the amplitude shows pronounced oscillations as a function of the bias voltage due to the difference between the velocities of spin and charge excitations in the Luttinger liquid. Therefore, the ac-Josephson effect can be used as a tool for the observation of {ital spin}-{ital charge} separation. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.53.6653},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/282820}, journal = {Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter},
number = 10,
volume = 53,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1996},
month = {Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1996}
}