Theory of macroscopic quantum tunneling with Josephson-Leggett collective excitations in multiband superconducting Josephson junctions

Hidehiro Asai; Yukihiro Ota; Shiro Kawabata; Masahiko Machida; Franco Nori

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.89.224507

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Theory of macroscopic quantum tunneling with Josephson-Leggett collective excitations in multiband superconducting Josephson junctions

Hidehiro Asai, Yukihiro Ota, Shiro Kawabata, Masahiko Machida, Franco Nori

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.89.224507 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

Collective excitations reveal fundamental properties and potential applications of superconducting states. We theoretically study macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT) in a Josephson junction composed of multiband superconductors, focusing on a phase mode induced by interband fluctuations: the Josephson-Leggett (JL) collective excitation mode. Using the imaginary-time path-integral method, we derive a formula for the MQT escape rate for low-temperature switching events. We clarify that the JL mode has two major effects on the MQT: (i) the zero-point fluctuations enhance the escape rate, and (ii) the quantum dissipation induced by the couplings to the gauge-invariant phase difference suppresses the quantum tunneling. We show that the enhancement exceeds the suppression for a wide range of junction parameters. This enhancement originates from the single-mode interaction between the tunneling variable and the interband fluctuations.