Connection between zero-energy Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states and 0−π transitions in magnetic Josephson junctions

Andreas Costa; Jaroslav Fabian; Denis Kochan

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.98.134511

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Connection between zero-energy Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states and 0−π transitions in magnetic Josephson junctions

Andreas Costa, Jaroslav Fabian, Denis Kochan

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevB.98.134511 · Physical Review B

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Abstract

We study theoretically the bound state spectrum and 0−π transitions in ballistic quasi-one-dimensional superconductor/ferromagnetic insulator/superconductor Josephson junctions. In addition to the Andreev bound states, stemming from the phase coherence, the magnetic barrier gives rise to qualitatively different Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) bound states with genuine spectral features and spin characteristics. We show that zero-energy YSR states are much more robust against the presence of scalar tunneling than their Andreev counterparts and also fingerprint a quantum phase transition from the junctions' 0 into the π phase, connected to a measurable reversal of the Josephson current; this evidence persists also in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling.