0-π quantum transition in a carbon nanotube Josephson junction: Universal phase dependence and orbital degeneracy

Abstract

In a π-Josephson junction, the supercurrent's sign is reversed due to the dephasing of superconducting pairs upon their traversal of the nonsuperconducting part. 0-π quantum transitions are extremely sensitive to electronic and magnetic correlations, providing powerful exploration tools of competing orders. In a quantum dot connected to superconducting reservoirs, the transition is governed by gate voltage. As shown recently, it can also be controlled by the superconducting phase in the case of strong competition between the superconducting proximity effect and Kondo correlations. We investigated here the current-phase relation in a clean carbon nanotube quantum dot, close to orbital degeneracy, in a regime of strong competition between local electronic correlations and superconducting proximity effect. We show that the nature of the transition depends crucially on the occupation and the width of the orbital levels, which determine their respective contribution to transport. When the transport of Cooper pairs takes place through only one of these levels, we find that the phase diagram of the phase-dependent 0-π transition is a universal characteristic of a discontinuous level-crossing quantum transition at zero temperature. In the case where the two levels are involved, the nanotube Josephson current exhibits a continuous 0-π transition, independent of the superconducting phase, revealing a different physical mechanism of the transition.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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