This review considers unusual effects in superconductor-ferromagnet structures, in particular, the triplet component of the condensate generated in those systems. This component is odd in frequency and even in momentum, which makes it insensitive to nonmagnetic impurities. If the exchange field is not homogeneous in the system, the triplet component is not destroyed even by a strong exchange field and can penetrate the ferromagnet over long distances. Some other effects considered here and caused by the proximity effect are enhancement of the Josephson current due to the presence of the ferromagnet, induction of a magnetic moment in superconductors resulting in a screening of the magnetic moment, and formation of periodic magnetic structures due to the influence of the superconductor. Finally, theoretical predictions are compared with existing experiments.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0506047.pdf

Odd triplet superconductivity and related phenomena in superconductor-ferromagnet structures

This review provides a theoretical basis for understanding the current-phase relation (CPhiR) for the stationary (dc) Josephson effect in various types of superconducting junctions The authors summarize recent theoretical developments with an emphasis on the fundamental physical mechanisms of the deviations of the CPhiR from the standard sinusoidal form A new experimental tool for measuring the CPhiR is described and its practical applications are discussed The method allows one to measure the electrical currents in Josephson junctions with a small coupling energy as compared to the thermal energy A number of examples illustrate the importance of the CPhiR measurements for both fundamental physics and applications

/pdf/the-current-phase-relation-in-josephson-junctions-40zrgv4v2s.pdf

The current-phase relation in Josephson junctions

Quasiclassical Green’s function approach to mesoscopic superconductivity

Superconductivity is a phenomenon where the macroscopic quantum coherence appears due to the pairing of electrons. This offers a fascinating arena to study the physics of symmetry breaking, i.e., broken gauge symmetry. However, the important symmetries in superconductors are not only the gauge invariance. Especially, the symmetry properties of the pairing, i.e., the parity and spin-singlet/spin-triplet, determine the physical properties of the superconducting state. Recently it has been recognized that there is the important third symmetry of the pair amplitude, i.e., even or odd parity with respect to the frequency. The conventional uniform superconducting states correspond to the even-frequency pairing, but the recent finding is that the odd-frequency pair amplitude arises in the spatially non-uniform situation quite ubiquitously. Especially, this is the case in the Andreev bound state (ABS) appearing at the surface/interface of the sample. The other important recent development is on the nontrivial top...

Symmetry and Topology in Superconductors –Odd-Frequency Pairing and Edge States–

Superconductivity is a phenomenon where the macroscopic quantum coherence appears due to the pairing of electrons. This offers a fascinating arena to study the physics of broken gauge symmetry. However, the important symmetries in superconductors are not only the gauge invariance. Especially, the symmetry properties of the pairing, i.e., the parity and spin-singlet/spin-triplet, determine the physical properties of the superconducting state. Recently it has been recognized that there is the important third symmetry of the pair amplitude, i.e., even or odd parity with respect to the frequency. The conventional uniform superconducting states correspond to the even-frequency pairing, but the recent finding is that the odd-frequency pair amplitude arises in the spatially non-uniform situation quite ubiquitously. Especially, this is the case in the Andreev bound state (ABS) appearing at the surface/interface of the sample. The other important recent development is on the nontrivial topological aspects of superconductors. As the band insulators are classified by topological indices into (i) conventional insulator, (ii) quantum Hall insulator, and (iii) topological insulator, also are the gapped superconductors. The influence of the nontrivial topology of the bulk states appears as the edge or surface of the sample. In the superconductors, this leads to the formation of zero energy ABS (ZEABS). Therefore, the ABSs of the superconductors are the place where the symmetry and topology meet each other which offer the stage of rich physics. In this review, we discuss the physics of ABS from the viewpoint of the odd-frequency pairing, the topological bulk-edge correspondence, and the interplay of these two issues. It is described how the symmetry of the pairing and topological indices determines the absence/presence of the ZEABS, its energy dispersion, and properties as the Majorana fermions.

Symmetry and Topology in Superconductors - Odd-frequency pairing and edge states -

A microscopic theory is developed for structures S-N-N′ (S is a superconductor, N, N′ are normal metals) with potential barriers at the interfaces. The length of the N layer is supposed to be shorter than the energy relaxation length but longer than the mean free path l , and the dirty case is considered ( l is shorter than the coherence length in the N-layer). The differential conductance is calculated for different values of the barrier resistances compared to the resistance of the middle layer. The conductance has an anomaly (a peak) at voltages V Δ due to an enhancement of the proximity effect at low energies (voltages). The anomaly is suppressed by pairbreaking mechanisms. It is shown that the magnetoconductance can be negative or positive depending on the ratio of the barrier resistances and on the voltage. The AC conductance (admittance) has a peak at a frequency ω Δ . At high voltages V ⪢ Δ a transition from an excess current at high barrier transparencies to a deficit current at low barrier transparencies is found in S-N-N′ (S) structures.

A.V. Zaitsev

Papers

Proximity effect under nonequilibrium conditions in double-barrier superconducting junctions