Topological superconducting phases and Josephson effect in curved time-reversal-invariant superconductors

Abstract

We consider a Rashba spin-orbit coupled nanowire with anisotropic spin-singlet superconducting pairing and time-reversal-invariant symmetry. We explore the evolution of the topological superconducting phases of this system due to geometric deformations for the representative case of a wire bent in a semielliptical shape. We find that when the system is in its topological superconducting phase, strong inhomogeneities in the profile curvature can produce a pair of localized eigenmodes, which can be attributed to a nonuniform topological phase. The curved geometric profile also allows to tune the spin correlations of the superconducting state via the induced inhomogeneity of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The geometric control of the superconducting pair correlations allows to manipulate the critical current in Josephson junctions made up of two time reversal invariant topological superconductors separated by a spin-orbit coupled normal metal. In particular, we find that the curvature inhomogeneity can be exploited for amplifying the current intensity, but also to generate a $0-\pi$ transition, and a second harmonic contribution, which generates, for some specific geometric configurations, a $\phi$-junction behavior.

9 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (14)

• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• Superconducting proximity effect and Majorana fermions at the surface of a topological insulator
• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
• Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures
• Classification of topological insulators and superconductors in three spatial dimensions
• Observation of Majorana Fermions in a Nb-InSb Nanowire-Nb Hybrid Quantum Device
• Introduction to topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions
• Topological Defects and Gapless Modes in Insulators and Superconductors
• Non-Abelian Topological Order in S-Wave Superfluids of Ultracold Fermionic Atoms
• Direct coupling between magnetism and superconducting current in Josephson Phi junction
• Majorana bound states and non-local spin correlations in a quantum wire on an unconventional superconductor
• Andreev spectroscopy and surface density of states for a three-dimensional time-reversal invariant topological superconductor
• Josephson Effect between Conventional and Rashba Superconductors
• Engineering Topological Nodal Line Semimetals in Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupled Atomic Chains

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Curvature control of the superconducting proximity effect in diffusive ferromagnetic nanowires
• Orbital tunable 0-$\pi$ transitions in Josephson junctions with noncentrosymmetric topological superconductors
• Curvature-induced long ranged supercurrents in diffusive SFS Josephson Junctions, with dynamic $0-\pi$ transition
• Interface probe for antiferromagnets using geometric curvature
• Tunable critical field in Rashba superconductor thin-films
• Non-constant geometric curvature for tailored spin-orbit coupling and chirality in superconductor-magnet heterostructures
• Bending-strain effects in conventional superconductors and superconducting junctions
• Binding zero modes with fluxons in Josephson junctions of time-reversal invariant topological superconductors