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arXiv:2207.06152 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Anomalous Josephson current through a driven double quantum dot

Carlos Ortega-Taberner, Antti‐Pekka Jauho, Jens Paaske

Published Mar 29, 2023• 22 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Josephson junctions based on quantum dots offer a convenient tunability by means of local gates. Here we analyze a Josephson junction based on a serial double quantum dot in which the two dots are individually gated by phase-shifted microwave tones of equal frequency. We calculate the time-averaged current across the junction and determine how the phase shift between the drives modifies the current-phase relation of the junction. Breaking particle-hole symmetry on the dots is found to give rise to a finite average anomalous Josephson current with phase bias between the superconductors fixed to zero. This microwave gated weak link thus realizes a tunable ``Floquet ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}$ junction'' with maximum critical current achieved for driving frequencies slightly off resonance with the subgap excitation energy. We provide numerical results supported by an analytical analysis for infinite superconducting gap and weak interdot coupling. We identify an interaction-driven $0\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\pi}$ transition of anomalous Josephson current as a function of driving phase difference. Finally, we show that this junction can be tuned so as to provide for complete rectification of the time-averaged Josephson current-phase relation.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.107.115165

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Josephson junctions based on quantum dots offer a convenient tunability by means of local gates. Here we analyze a Josephson junction based on a serial double quantum dot in which the two dots are individually gated by phase-shifted microwave tones of equal frequency. We calculate the time-averaged current across the junction and determine how the phase shift between the drives modifies the current-phase relation of the junction. Breaking particle-hole symmetry on the dots is found to give rise to a finite average anomalous Josephson current with phase bias between the superconductors fixed to zero. This microwave gated weak link thus realizes a tunable ``Floquet \ensuremathφ0{\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}\ensuremathφ0​ junction'' with maximum critical current achieved for driving frequencies slightly off resonance with the subgap excitation energy. We provide numerical results supported by an analytical analysis for infinite superconducting gap and weak interdot coupling. We identify an interaction-driven 0\ensuremath-\ensuremathπ0\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\pi}0\ensuremath-\ensuremathπ transition of anomalous Josephson current as a function of driving phase difference. Finally, we show that this junction can be tuned so as to provide for complete rectification of the time-averaged Josephson current-phase relation.
The combined action of a DC bias and a microwave drive on the transport characteristic of a superconductor-quantum dot-superconductor junction is investigated. To cope with time dependent non-equilibrium effects and interactions in the quantum dot, we develop a general formalism for the dynamics of the density operator based on a particle conserving approach to superconductivity. Without invoking a broken U (1) symmetry, we identify a dynamical phase connected to the coherent transfer of Cooper pairs across the junction. In the weak coupling limit, we show that besides quasiparticle transport, proximity induced superconducting correlations manifest in anomalous pair tunneling involving the transfer of a Cooper pair. The resulting generalized master equation in presence of the microwave drive showcases the characteristic bichromatic response due to the combination of the AC Josephson effect and an AC voltage. Analytical expressions for all harmonics in the driving frequency of both the current and the reduced dot operator are given for arbitrary driving strength. For the net DC current the resulting photon assisted processes give rise to rich current-voltage characteristics. In addition to photon assisted subgap transport we find regions of total current inversion in the stability diagram. There, the junction acts as a pump with the net DC current flowing against the applied DC bias. The first harmonic of the current, being closely related to the nonlinear dynamic susceptibility of the junction, is discussed at finite applied DC bias.
The combined action of a dc bias and a microwave drive on the transport characteristic of a superconductor-quantum dot-superconductor junction is investigated. To cope with time dependent nonequilibrium effects and interactions in the quantum dot, we develop a general formalism for the dynamics of the density operator based on a particle conserving approach to superconductivity. Without invoking a broken U(1) symmetry, we identify a dynamical phase connected to the coherent transfer of Cooper pairs across the junction. In the weak-coupling limit, we show that besides quasiparticle transport, proximity induced superconducting correlations manifest in anomalous pair tunneling involving the transfer of a Cooper pair. The resulting generalized master equation in presence of the microwave drive showcases the characteristic bichromatic response due to the combination of the ac Josephson effect and an ac voltage. Analytical expressions for all harmonics in the driving frequency of both the current and the reduced dot operator are given for arbitrary driving strength. For the net dc current, the resulting photon assisted processes give rise to rich current-voltage characteristics. In addition to photon assisted subgap transport, we find regions of total current inversion in the stability diagram. There, the junction acts as a pump with the net dc current flowing against the applied dc bias. The first harmonic of the current, being closely related to the nonlinear dynamic susceptibility of the junction, is discussed at finite applied dc bias.
In this Letter, we manipulate the phase shift of a Josephson junction using a parallel double quantum dot (QD). By employing a superconducting quantum interference device, we determine how orbital hybridization and detuning affect the current-phase relation in the Coulomb blockade regime. For weak hybridization between the QDs, we find π junction characteristics if at least one QD has an unpaired electron. Notably the critical current is higher when both QDs have an odd electron occupation. By increasing the inter-QD hybridization the critical current is reduced, until eventually a π-0 transition occurs. A similar transition appears when detuning the QD levels at finite hybridization. Based on a zero-bandwidth model, we argue that both cases of phase-shift transitions can be understood considering an increased weight of states with a double occupancy in the ground state and with the Cooper pair transport dominated by local Andreev reflection.
We study the critical Josephson current flowing through a double quantum dot weakly coupled to two superconducting leads. We use analytical as well as numerical methods to investigate this setup in the limit of small and large bandwidth leads in all possible charging states, where we account for on-site interactions exactly. Our results provide clear signatures of nonlocal spin-entangled pairs, which support interpretations of recent experiments [R. S. Deacon, A. Oiwa, J. Sailer, S. Baba, Y. Kanai, K. Shibata, K. Hirakawa, and S. Tarucha, Nat. Commun. 6, 7446 (2015)]. In addition, we find that the ground state with one electron on each quantum dot can undergo a tunable singlet-triplet phase transition in the regime where the superconducting gap in the leads is not too large, which gives rise to an additional new signature of nonlocal Cooper-pair transport.
In circuit quantum electrodynamical systems, the quasiparticle-related losses in Josephson junctions are suppressed due to the gap in the superconducting density of states which is much higher than the typical energy of a microwave photon. In this work, we show that a strong drive even at a frequency lower than twice the superconductor gap parameter can activate dissipation in the junctions due to photon-assisted breaking of the Cooper pairs. Both the decay rate and noise strength associated with the losses are sensitive to the dc phase bias of the junction and can be tuned in a broad range by the amplitude and the frequency of the external driving field, making the suggested mechanism potentially attractive for designing tunable dissipative elements. We also predict pronounced memory effects in the driven Josephson junctions, which are appealing for both theoretical and experimental studies of non-Markovian physics in superconducting quantum circuits. We illustrate our theoretical findings by studying the spectral properties and the steady-state population of a low-impedance resonator coupled to the driven Josephson junction: we show the emergence of non-Lorentzian spectral lines and broad tunability of effective temperature of the steady state.
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide We perform switching current measurements of planar Josephson junctions (JJs) coupled by a common superconducting electrode with independent control over the two superconducting phase differences. We observe an anomalous phase shift in the current–phase relation of a JJ as a function of gate voltage or phase difference in the second JJ. This demonstrates the nonlocal Josephson effect, and the implementation of a φ 0 -junction which is tunable both electrostatically and magnetically. The anomalous phase shift is larger for shorter distances between the JJs and vanishes for distances much longer than the superconducting coherence length. Results are consistent with the hybridization of Andreev bound states, leading to the formation of an Andreev molecule. Our devices constitute a realization of a tunable superconducting phase source and could enable new coupling schemes for hybrid quantum devices.