Denis Chevallier

Spin imbalance and spin-charge separation in a mesoscopic superconductor

Injection of spin-polarized electrons into a superconductor leads to both spin and charge imbalance. If charge relaxation occurs faster than spin relaxation, it is possible to observe excess spin at almost no extra charge.

Current and noise correlations in a double-dot Cooper-pair beam splitter

We consider a double quantum dot coupled to two normal leads and one superconducting lead, modeling the Cooper pair beam splitter studied in two recent experiments. Starting from a microscopic Hamiltonian we derive a general expression for the branching current and the noise crossed correlations in terms of single and two-particle Greens function of the dot electrons. We then study numerically how these quantities depend on the energy configuration of the dots and the presence of direct tunneling between them, isolating the various processes which come into play. In absence of direct tunneling, the antisymmetric case (the two levels have opposite energies with respect to the superconducting chemical potential) optimizes the Crossed Andreev Reflection (CAR) process while the symmetric case (the two levels have the same energies) favors the Elastic Cotunneling (EC) process. Switching on the direct tunneling tends to suppress the CAR process, leading to negative noise crossed correlations over the whole voltage range for large enough direct tunneling.

Mutation of Andreev into Majorana bound states in long superconductor-normal and superconductor-normal-superconductor junctions

We study one-dimensional topological SN and SNS long junctions obtained by placing a topological insulating nanowire in the proximity of either one or two SC finite-size leads. Using the Majorana Polarization order parameter (MP) introduced in Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 096802 (2012), we find that the extended Andreev bound states (ABS) of the normal part of the wire acquire a finite MP: for a finite-size SN junction the ABS spectrum exhibits a zero-energy extended state which carries a full Majorana fermion, while the ABS of long SNS junctions with phase difference π transform into two zero-energy states carrying two Majorana fermions with the same MP. Given their extended character inside the whole normal link, and not only close to an interface, these Majorana-Andreev states can be directly detected in tunneling spectroscopy experiments.

Spin and charge signatures of topological superconductivity in Rashba nanowires

We consider a Rashba nanowire with proximity gap which can be brought into the topological phase by tuning external magnetic field or chemical potential. We study spin and charge of the bulk quasiparticle states when passing through the topological transition for open and closed systems. We show, analytically and numerically, that the spin of bulk states around the topological gap reverses its sign when crossing the transition due to band inversion, independent of the presence of Majorana fermions in the system. This spin reversal can be considered as a bulk signature of topological superconductivity that can be accessed experimentally. We find a similar behaviour for the charge of the bulk quasiparticle states, also exhibiting a sign reversal at the transition. We show that these signatures are robust against random static disorder.

From Andreev bound states to Majorana fermions in topological wires on superconducting substrates: A story of mutation

We study the proximity effect in a topological nanowire tunnel coupled to an s-wave superconducting substrate. We use a general Greens function approach that allows us to study the evolution of the Andreev bound states in the wire into Majorana fermions. We show that the strength of the tunnel coupling induces a topological transition in which the Majorana fermionic states can be destroyed when the coupling is very strong. Moreover, we provide a phenomenologial study of the effects of disorder in the superconductor on the formation of Majorana fermions. We note a non-trivial effect of a quasiparticle broadening term which can take the wire from a topological into a non-topological phase in certain ranges of parameters. Our results have also direct consequences for a nanowire coupled to an inhomogenous superconductor.

Frequency-Domain Measurement of the Spin Imbalance Lifetime in Superconductors

We have measured the lifetime of spin imbalances in the quasiparticle population of a superconductor

Spin-dependent coupling between quantum dots and topological quantum wires

({\ensuremath{\tau}}_{s})

Tomography of Majorana Fermions with STM Tips

in the frequency domain. A time-dependent spin imbalance is created by injecting spin-polarized electrons at finite excitation frequencies into a thin-film mesoscopic superconductor (Al) in an in-plane magnetic field (in the Pauli limit). The time-averaged value of the spin-imbalance signal as a function of excitation frequency

Quench dynamics of fermion-parity switches in a Josephson junction

{f}_{\text{rf}}

Current correlations in the interacting Cooper-pair beam-splitter

shows a cutoff at