1
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Dmitriev SV, Kuzkin VA, Krivtsov AM. Nonequilibrium thermal rectification at the junction of harmonic chains. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:054221. [PMID: 38115418 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.054221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
A thermal diode or rectifier is a system that transmits heat or energy in one direction better than in the opposite direction. We investigate the influence of the distribution of energy among wave numbers on the diode effect for the junction of two dissimilar harmonic chains. An analytical expression for the diode coefficient, characterizing the difference between heat fluxes through the junction in two directions, is derived. It is shown that the diode coefficient depends on the distribution of energy among wave numbers. For an equilibrium energy distribution, the diode effect is absent, while for non-equilibrium energy distributions the diode effect is observed even though the system is harmonic. We show that the diode effect can be maximized by varying the energy distribution and relative position of spectra of the two harmonic chains. Conditions are formulated under which the system acts as an ideal thermal rectifier, i.e., transmits heat only in one direction. The results obtained are important for understanding the heat transfer in heterogeneous low-dimensional nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey V Dmitriev
- Institute of Molecule and Crystal Physics, Ufa Federal Research Centre of RAS, Ufa 450054, Russia
- Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, Ufa 450062, Russia
| | - Vitaly A Kuzkin
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering RAS, Saint Petersburg 199178, Russia
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg 195251, Russia
| | - Anton M Krivtsov
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering RAS, Saint Petersburg 199178, Russia
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg 195251, Russia
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2
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Germanese G, Paolucci F, Marchegiani G, Braggio A, Giazotto F. Bipolar thermoelectric Josephson engine. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 17:1084-1090. [PMID: 36138204 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01208-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Thermoelectric effects in metals are typically small due to the nearly perfect particle-hole symmetry around their Fermi surface. Furthermore, thermo-phase effects and linear thermoelectricity in superconducting systems have been identified only when particle-hole symmetry is explicitly broken, since thermoelectric effects were considered impossible in pristine superconductors. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that superconducting tunnel junctions develop a very large bipolar thermoelectricity in the presence of a sizable thermal gradient thanks to spontaneous particle-hole symmetry breaking. Our junctions show Seebeck coefficients of up to ±300 μV K-1, which is comparable with quantum dots and roughly 105 times larger than the value expected for normal metals at subkelvin temperatures. Moreover, by integrating our junctions into a Josephson interferometer, we realize a bipolar thermoelectric Josephson engine generating phase-tunable electric powers of up to ~140 nW mm-2. Notably, our device implements also the prototype for a persistent thermoelectric memory cell, written or erased by current injection. We expect that our findings will lead to applications in superconducting quantum technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Germanese
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Federico Paolucci
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
| | | | - Alessandro Braggio
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy.
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3
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Pal S, Benjamin C. Josephson quantum spin thermodynamics. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:305601. [PMID: 35551119 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac6f3b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
A 1D Josephson junction (JJ) loop, doped with a spin-flipper and attached to two thermal reservoirs is shown to operate as a heat engine, or a refrigerator, or a Joule pump or even as a cold pump. When operating as a quantum heat engine, the efficiency of this device exceeds that of some recent Josephson heat engine proposals. Further, as a quantum refrigerator, the coefficient of performance of this device is much higher than previously proposed JJ based refrigerators. In addition, this device can be tuned from engine mode to refrigerator mode or to any other mode, i.e., Joule pump or cold pump by either tuning the temperature of reservoirs, or via the flux enclosed in the JJ loop. In presence of spin flip scattering we can tune our device from engine mode to other operating modes by only changing the enclosed flux in JJ loop without changing the temperatures of the reservoirs. This is potentially an advantage with respect to other proposals. This makes the proposed device much more versatile as regards possible applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subhajit Pal
- School of Physical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education & Research, An OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute, Jatni-752050, India
| | - Colin Benjamin
- School of Physical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education & Research, An OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute, Jatni-752050, India
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4
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Korznikova EA, Kuzkin VA, Krivtsov AM, Xiong D, Gani VA, Kudreyko AA, Dmitriev SV. Equilibration of sinusoidal modulation of temperature in linear and nonlinear chains. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:062148. [PMID: 33465976 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.062148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The equilibration of sinusoidally modulated distribution of the kinetic temperature is analyzed in the β-Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou chain with different degrees of nonlinearity and for different wavelengths of temperature modulation. Two different types of initial conditions are used to show that either one gives the same result as the number of realizations increases and that the initial conditions that are closer to the state of thermal equilibrium give faster convergence. The kinetics of temperature equilibration is monitored and compared to the analytical solution available for the linear chain in the continuum limit. The transition from ballistic to diffusive thermal conductivity with an increase in the degree of anharmonicity is shown. In the ballistic case, the energy equilibration has an oscillatory character with an amplitude decreasing in time, and in the diffusive case, it is monotonous in time. For smaller wavelength of temperature modulation, the oscillatory character of temperature equilibration remains for a larger degree of anharmonicity. For a given wavelength of temperature modulation, there is such a value of the anharmonicity parameter at which the temperature equilibration occurs most rapidly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena A Korznikova
- Institute of Molecule and Crystal Physics, Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa 450054, Russia
- Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Ufa 450008, Russia
| | - Vitaly A Kuzkin
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University, Saint Petersburg 195251, Russia
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering, RAS, Saint Petersburg 199178, Russia
| | - Anton M Krivtsov
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University, Saint Petersburg 195251, Russia
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering, RAS, Saint Petersburg 199178, Russia
| | - Daxing Xiong
- MinJiang Collaborative Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Electronic Information Engineering, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China
| | - Vakhid A Gani
- National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), Moscow 115409, Russia
- Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute," Moscow 117218, Russia
| | - Aleksey A Kudreyko
- Department of Medical Physics and Informatics, Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa 450008, Russia
| | - Sergey V Dmitriev
- Institute of Molecule and Crystal Physics, Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa 450054, Russia
- Institute of Mathematics with Computing Centre, Ufa Federal Research Centre of RAS, Ufa 450008, Russia
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5
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Luo X, Peng Y, Shen H, Yi X. Thermal transport of Josephson junction based on two-dimensional electron gas. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2187. [PMID: 30778116 PMCID: PMC6379384 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38704-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
We study the phase-dependent thermal transport of a short temperature-biased Josephson junction based on two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with both Rashba and Dresselhaus couplings. Except for thermal equilibrium temperature T, characters of thermal transport can also be manipulated by interaction parameter h0 and the parameter [Formula: see text] . A larger value and a sharper switching behavior of thermal conductance can be obtained if h0 takes suitable values and [Formula: see text] is larger. Finally, we propose a possible experimental setup based on the discussed Josephson junction and find that the temperature of the right superconducting electrode TR is influenced by the same three parameters in a similar way with thermal conductance. This setup may provide a valid method to select moderately-doped 2DEG materials and superconducting electrodes to control the change of temperature and obtain an efficient temperature regulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxuan Luo
- Center for Quantum Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China.
| | - Yufeng Peng
- Center for Quantum Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
| | - Hongzhi Shen
- Center for Quantum Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China
- Center for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China
| | - Xuexi Yi
- Center for Quantum Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China.
- Center for Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Research, and Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China.
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6
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Guarcello C, Solinas P, Braggio A, Giazotto F. Phase-coherent solitonic Josephson heat oscillator. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12287. [PMID: 30115940 PMCID: PMC6095918 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30268-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its recent foundation, phase-coherent caloritronics has sparkled continuous interest giving rise to numerous concrete applications. This research field deals with the coherent manipulation of heat currents in mesoscopic superconducting devices by mastering the Josephson phase difference. Here, we introduce a new generation of devices for fast caloritronics able to control local heat power and temperature through manipulation of Josephson vortices, i.e., solitons. Although most salient features concerning Josephson vortices in long Josephson junctions were comprehensively hitherto explored, little is known about soliton-sustained coherent thermal transport. We demonstrate that the soliton configuration determines the temperature profile in the junction, so that, in correspondence of each magnetically induced soliton, both the flowing thermal power and the temperature significantly enhance. Finally, we thoroughly discuss a fast solitonic Josephson heat oscillator, whose frequency is in tune with the oscillation frequency of the magnetic drive. Notably, the proposed heat oscillator can effectively find application as a tunable thermal source for nanoscale heat engines and coherent thermal machines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Guarcello
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127, Pisa, Italy.
| | | | - Alessandro Braggio
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127, Pisa, Italy
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7
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Sauls JA. Andreev bound states and their signatures. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2018; 376:rsta.2018.0140. [PMID: 29941632 PMCID: PMC6030153 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Many of the properties of superconductors related to quantum coherence are revealed when the superconducting state is forced to vary in space in response to an external magnetic field, a proximity contact, an interface to a ferromagnet or to impurities embedded in the superconductor. Among the earliest examples is Andreev reflection of an electron into a retro-reflected hole at a normal-superconducting interface. In regions of strong inhomogeneity, multiple Andreev reflection leads to the formation of sub-gap states, Andreev bound states, with excitation energies below the superconducting gap. These states play a central role in our understanding of inhomogeneous superconductors. The discoveries of unconventional superconductivity in many classes of materials, advances in fabrication of superconducting/ferromagnetic hybrids and nanostructures for confining superfluid 3 He, combined with theoretical developments in topological quantum matter have dramatically expanded the significance of branch conversion scattering and Andreev bound state formation. This collection of articles highlights developments in inhomogeneous superconductivity, unconventional superconductivity and topological phases of superfluid 3 He, in which Andreev scattering and bound states underpin much of the physics of these systems. This article provides an introduction to the basic physics of Andreev scattering, bound-state formation and their signatures. The goal is both an introduction for interested readers who are not already experts in the field, and to highlight examples in which branch conversion scattering and Andreev bound states provide unique signatures in the transport properties of superconductors.This article is part of the theme issue 'Andreev bound states'.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Sauls
- Fermilab-Northwestern Center for Applied Physics and Superconducting Technologies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Northwestern University, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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8
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Gelbwaser-Klimovsky D, Bylinskii A, Gangloff D, Islam R, Aspuru-Guzik A, Vuletic V. Single-Atom Heat Machines Enabled by Energy Quantization. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 120:170601. [PMID: 29756824 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.170601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Quantization of energy is a quintessential characteristic of quantum systems. Here we analyze its effects on the operation of Otto cycle heat machines and show that energy quantization alone may alter and increase machine performance in terms of output work, efficiency, and even operation mode. We show that this difference in performance occurs in machines with inhomogeneous energy level scaling, while quantum machines with homogeneous level scaling behave like classical machines. Our results demonstrate that quantum thermodynamics enables the realization of classically inconceivable Otto machines, such as those with an incompressible working substance. We propose to measure these effects experimentally using a laser-cooled trapped ion as a microscopic heat machine.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gelbwaser-Klimovsky
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Alexei Bylinskii
- Department of Physics and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Dorian Gangloff
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Rajibul Islam
- Institute for Quantum Computing and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Alán Aspuru-Guzik
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Vladan Vuletic
- Department of Physics and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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9
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Timossi GF, Fornieri A, Paolucci F, Puglia C, Giazotto F. Phase-Tunable Josephson Thermal Router. NANO LETTERS 2018; 18:1764-1769. [PMID: 29444407 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b04906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental aspect of electronics is the ability to distribute a charge current among different terminals. On the other hand, despite the great interest in dissipation, storage, and conversion of heat in solid state structures, the control of thermal currents at the nanoscale is still in its infancy. Here, we show the experimental realization of a phase-tunable thermal router able to control the spatial distribution of an incoming heat current, thus providing the possibility of tuning the electronic temperatures of two output terminals. This ability is obtained thanks to a direct current superconducting quantum interference device (dc SQUID), which can tune the coherent component of the electronic heat currents flowing through its Josephson junctions. By varying the external magnetic flux and the bath temperature, the SQUID allows us to regulate the size and the direction of the thermal gradient between two drain electrodes. Our results offer new opportunities for all microcircuits requiring an accurate energy management, including electronic coolers, quantum information architectures, and thermal logic components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuliano Francesco Timossi
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza S. Silvestro 12 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
| | - Antonio Fornieri
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza S. Silvestro 12 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
| | - Federico Paolucci
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza S. Silvestro 12 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
| | - Claudio Puglia
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza S. Silvestro 12 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Universitá di Pisa , Largo Pontecorvo 3 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
| | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza S. Silvestro 12 , I-56127 Pisa , Italy
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10
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Saadatmand D, Xiong D, Kuzkin VA, Krivtsov AM, Savin AV, Dmitriev SV. Discrete breathers assist energy transfer to ac-driven nonlinear chains. Phys Rev E 2018; 97:022217. [PMID: 29548171 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.97.022217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A one-dimensional chain of pointwise particles harmonically coupled with nearest neighbors and placed in sixth-order polynomial on-site potentials is considered. The power of the energy source in the form of single ac driven particle is calculated numerically for different amplitudes A and frequencies ω within the linear phonon band. The results for the on-site potentials with hard and soft anharmonicity types are compared. For the hard-type anharmonicity, it is shown that when the driving frequency is close to (far from) the upper edge of the phonon band, the power of the energy source normalized to A^{2} increases (decreases) with increasing A. In contrast, for the soft-type anharmonicity, the normalized power of the energy source increases (decreases) with increasing A when the driving frequency is close to (far from) the lower edge of the phonon band. Our further demonstrations indicate that in the case of hard (soft) anharmonicity, the chain can support movable discrete breathers (DBs) with frequencies above (below) the phonon band. It is the energy source quasiperiodically emitting moving DBs in the regime with driving frequency close to the DB frequency that induces the increase of the power. Therefore, our results here support the mechanism that the moving DBs can assist energy transfer from the ac driven particle to the chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danial Saadatmand
- Department of Physics, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Daxing Xiong
- Department of Physics, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, Fujian, China
| | - Vitaly A Kuzkin
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University, Polytechnicheskaya Street 29, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering RAS, Bolshoy pr. V.O. 61, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anton M Krivtsov
- Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University, Polytechnicheskaya Street 29, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering RAS, Bolshoy pr. V.O. 61, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Alexander V Savin
- Semenov Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Sergey V Dmitriev
- Institute for Metals Superplasticity Problems RAS, Khalturin 39, 450001 Ufa, Russia
- National Research Tomsk State University, Lenin Avenue 36, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
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11
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Li H, Zhao YY. Thermal transport in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures with mixed singlet and triplet pairing states. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2017; 29:465001. [PMID: 28967869 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/aa9043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In the framework of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we investigate the thermal transport properties in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures with mixed spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states, and emphasize the different manifestations of the spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states in the thermal transport signatures. It is revealed that the temperature-dependent differential thermal conductance strongly depends on the components of the pairing state, and the negative differential thermal conductance only occurs in the spin-singlet pairing state dominated regime. It is also found that the thermal conductance is profoundly sensitive to the components of the pairing state. In the spin-singlet pairing state controlled regime, the thermal conductance obviously oscillates with the phase difference and junction length. With increasing the proportion of the spin-triplet pairing state, the oscillating characteristic of the thermal conductance fades out distinctly. These results suggest an alternative route for distinguishing the components of pairing states in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai Li
- Department of Physics and Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, United States of America
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12
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Fornieri A, Giazotto F. Towards phase-coherent caloritronics in superconducting circuits. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2017; 12:944-952. [PMID: 28984310 DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2017.204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The emerging field of phase-coherent caloritronics (from the Latin word calor, heat) is based on the possibility of controlling heat currents by using the phase difference of the superconducting order parameter. The goal is to design and implement thermal devices that can control energy transfer with a degree of accuracy approaching that reached for charge transport by contemporary electronic components. This can be done by making use of the macroscopic quantum coherence intrinsic to superconducting condensates, which manifests itself through the Josephson effect and the proximity effect. Here, we review recent experimental results obtained in the realization of heat interferometers and thermal rectifiers, and discuss a few proposals for exotic nonlinear phase-coherent caloritronic devices, such as thermal transistors, solid-state memories, phase-coherent heat splitters, microwave refrigerators, thermal engines and heat valves. Besides being attractive from the fundamental physics point of view, these systems are expected to have a vast impact on many cryogenic microcircuits requiring energy management, and possibly lay the first stone for the foundation of electronic thermal logic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Fornieri
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
- Center for Quantum Devices and Station Q Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
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13
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Fornieri A, Timossi G, Virtanen P, Solinas P, Giazotto F. 0-π phase-controllable thermal Josephson junction. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2017; 12:425-429. [PMID: 28288120 DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2017.25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Two superconductors coupled by a weak link support an equilibrium Josephson electrical current that depends on the phase difference ϕ between the superconducting condensates. Yet, when a temperature gradient is imposed across the junction, the Josephson effect manifests itself through a coherent component of the heat current that flows opposite to the thermal gradient for |ϕ| < π/2 (refs 2-4). The direction of both the Josephson charge and heat currents can be inverted by adding a π shift to ϕ. In the static electrical case, this effect has been obtained in a few systems, for example via a ferromagnetic coupling or a non-equilibrium distribution in the weak link. These structures opened new possibilities for superconducting quantum logic and ultralow-power superconducting computers. Here, we report the first experimental realization of a thermal Josephson junction whose phase bias can be controlled from 0 to π. This is obtained thanks to a superconducting quantum interferometer that allows full control of the direction of the coherent energy transfer through the junction. This possibility, in conjunction with the completely superconducting nature of our system, provides temperature modulations with an unprecedented amplitude of ∼100 mK and transfer coefficients exceeding 1 K per flux quantum at 25 mK. Then, this quantum structure represents a fundamental step towards the realization of caloritronic logic components such as thermal transistors, switches and memory devices. These elements, combined with heat interferometers and diodes, would complete the thermal conversion of the most important phase-coherent electronic devices and benefit cryogenic microcircuits requiring energy management, such as quantum computing architectures and radiation sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Fornieri
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giuliano Timossi
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Pauli Virtanen
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza S. Silvestro 12, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
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14
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Kleeorin Y, Meir Y, Giazotto F, Dubi Y. Large Tunable Thermophase in Superconductor - Quantum Dot - Superconductor Josephson Junctions. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35116. [PMID: 27734919 PMCID: PMC5062082 DOI: 10.1038/srep35116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In spite of extended efforts, detecting thermoelectric effects in superconductors has proven to be a challenging task, due to the inherent superconducting particle-hole symmetry. Here we present a theoretical study of an experimentally attainable Superconductor - Quantum Dot - Superconductor (SC-QD-SC) Josephson Junction. Using Keldysh Green's functions we derive the exact thermo-phase and thermal response of the junction, and demonstrate that such a junction has highly tunable thermoelectric properties and a significant thermal response. The origin of these effects is the QD energy level placed between the SCs, which breaks particle-hole symmetry in a gradual manner, allowing, in the presence of a temperature gradient, for gate controlled appearance of a superconducting thermo-phase. This thermo-phase increases up to a maximal value of ±π/2 after which thermovoltage is expected to develop. Our calculations are performed in realistic parameter regimes, and we suggest an experimental setup which could be used to verify our predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaakov Kleeorin
- Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Yigal Meir
- Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
- The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Francesco Giazotto
- NEST Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Yonatan Dubi
- The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
- Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel
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Quantum Thermodynamics in Strong Coupling: Heat Transport and Refrigeration. ENTROPY 2016. [DOI: 10.3390/e18050186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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