Spin-orbit induced chirality of Andreev states in Josephson junctions

Abstract

We study Josephson junctions (JJs) in which the region between the two superconductors is a multichannel system with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) where a barrier or a quantum point contact (QPC) is present. These systems might present unconventional Josephson effects such as Josephson currents for zero phase difference or critical currents that \textit{depend on} the current direction. Here, we discuss how the spin polarizing properties of the system in the normal state affect the spin characteristic of the Andreev bound states inside the junction. This results in a strong correlation between the spin of the Andreev states and the direction in which they transport Cooper pairs. While the current-phase relation for the JJ at zero magnetic field is qualitatively unchanged by SOC, in the presence of a weak magnetic field a strongly anisotropic behavior and the mentioned anomalous Josephson effects follow. We show that the situation is not restricted to barriers based on constrictions such as QPCs and should generically arise if in the normal system the direction of the carrier's spin is linked to its direction of motion.

19 pages, 9 figures. To appear in PRB

References in corpus (11)

• Quantum Spin Hall Insulator State in HgTe Quantum Wells
• Superconducting proximity effect and Majorana fermions at the surface of a topological insulator
• Multichannel Generalization of Kitaev's Majorana End States and a Practical Route to Realize Them in Thin Films
• Anomalous Josephson Current in Junctions with Spin-Polarizing Quantum Point Contacts
• Spin-triplet supercurrent carried by quantum Hall edge states through a Josephson junction
• Josephson current through a quantum dot with spin-orbit coupling
• Splitting of Andreev levels in a Josephson junction by spin-orbit coupling
• Detection of spin polarized currents in quantum point contacts via transverse electron focusing
• Polarized Electric Current in Semiclassical Transport with Spin-Orbit Interaction
• Spin polarized current generation from quantum dots without magnetic fields
• Charge and spin transport in nanoscopic structures with spin-orbit coupling

Cited by in corpus (35)

• A Josephson junction supercurrent diode
• Anomalous Josephson effect induced by spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman effect in semiconductor nanowires
• Universal Josephson diode effect
• The Josephson diode effect in supercurrent interferometers
• Coherent manipulation of an Andreev spin qubit
• Effect of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling on supercurrent rectification and magnetochiral anisotropy of ballistic Josephson junctions
• Spin Orbit coupling and Anomalous Josephson effect in Nanowires
• Tunable Josephson diode effect on the surface of topological insulators
• Anomalous Fraunhofer Interference in Epitaxial Superconductor-Semiconductor Josephson Junctions
• Unpaired Floquet Majorana fermions without magnetic fields
• Microscopic study of the Josephson supercurrent diode effect in Josephson junctions based on two-dimensional electron gas
• Andreev spin qubits in multichannel Rashba nanowires
• Non-Reciprocal Supercurrents in a Field-Free Graphene Josephson Triode
• Spontaneous Edge Accumulation of Spin Currents in Finite-Size Two-Dimensional Diffusive Spin-Orbit Coupled SFS Heterostructures
• Sign reversal of the AC and DC supercurrent diode effect and 0-$\pi$-like transitions in ballistic Josephson junctions
• Circuit-QED with phase-biased Josephson weak links
• Signatures of a topological phase transition in a planar Josephson junction
• Long-Range Spin-Triplet Correlations and Edge Spin Currents in Diffusive Spin-Orbit Coupled SNS Hybrids with a Single Spin-Active Interface
• Microwave spectroscopy of interacting Andreev spins
• Josephson diode effect in a ballistic single-channel nanowire
• Nonreciprocal charge transport and subharmonic structure in voltage-biased Josephson diodes
• Strong nonlocal tuning of the current-phase relation of a quantum dot based Andreev molecule
• Anisotropic vortex squeezing in synthetic Rashba superconductors: a manifestation of Lifshitz invariants
• Spin-degeneracy breaking and parity transitions in three-terminal Josephson junctions
• Anomalous Josephson effect in planar noncentrosymmetric superconducting devices
• Evidence of $\varphi$0-Josephson junction from skewed diffraction patterns in Sn-InSb nanowires
• Electrically modulated SQUID with single Josephson junction coupled by a time-reversal breaking Weyl semimetal thin film
• Unconventional Josephson supercurrent diode effect induced by chiral spin-orbit coupling
• Opportunities for the direct manipulation of a phase-driven Andreev spin qubit
• Microwave Signatures of Topological Superconductivity in Planar Josephson Junctions
• Spontaneous vortex state and $\phi$-junction in a superconducting bijunction with a localized spin
• Phase tunable Josephson junction and spontaneous mass current in a spin-orbit coupled Fermi superfluid
• Andreev spin qubit protected by Franck-Condon blockade
• Effects of electron-electron interaction and spin-orbit coupling on Andreev pair qubits in quantum dot Josephson junctions
• Josephson diode effect via a non-equilibrium Rashba system