General conditions for proximity-induced odd-frequency superconductivity in two-dimensional electronic systems

Abstract

We obtain the general conditions for the emergence of odd-frequency superconducting pairing in a two-dimensional (2D) electronic system proximity-coupled to a superconductor, making minimal assumptions about both the 2D system and the superconductor. Using our general results we show that a simple heterostructure formed by a monolayer of a group VI transition metal dichalcogenide, such as molybdenum disulfide, and an s-wave superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling will exhibit odd-frequency superconducting pairing. Furthermore, we show that in such a heterostructure the odd-frequency pairing amplitude will be proportional to the product of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling in the substrate and the spin-orbit coupling in the dichalcogenide layer.

4 pages, 1 figure, published version