Quantized charge pumping in a superconducting double-barrier structure: Nontrivial correlations due to proximity effect

Abstract

We consider quantum charge pumping of electrons across a superconducting double-barrier structure in the adiabatic limit. The superconducting barriers are assumed to be reflectionless so that an incident electron on the barrier can either tunnel through it or Andreev reflect from it. In this structure, quantum charge pumping can be achieved (a) by modulating the amplitudes, Δ1 and Δ2, of the gaps associated with the two superconductors or alternatively, (b) by a periodic modulation of the order-parameter phases, ϕ1 and ϕ2, of the superconducting barriers. In the former case, we show that the superconducting gap gives rise to a very sharp resonance in the transmission, resulting in quantization of pumped charge, when the pumping contour encloses the resonance. On the other hand, we find that quantization is hard to achieve in the latter case. We show that inclusion of weak electron-electron interaction in the quantum wire leads to renormalization-group evolution of the transmission amplitude toward the perfectly transmitting limit due to interplay of electron-electron interaction and proximity effects in the wire. Hence as we approach the zero-temperature limit due to renormalization-group flow of transmission amplitude, we get destruction of quantized pumped charge. This is in sharp contrast to the case of charge pumping in a double barrier through a Luttinger liquid where quantized charge pumping is actually achieved in the zero-temperature limit.

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