Josephson Currents Induced by the Witten Effect
Flavio S. Nogueira, Zohar Nussinov, Jeroen van den Brink
DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.167002 · Physical Review Letters
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Abstract
We reveal the existence of a new type of topological Josephson effect involving type II superconductors and three-dimensional topological insulators as tunnel junctions. We predict that vortex lines induce a variant of the Witten effect that is the consequence of the axion electromagnetic response of the topological insulator: at the interface of the junction each flux quantum attains a fractional electrical charge of e/4. As a consequence, if an external magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the junction, the Witten effect induces an ac Josephson effect in the absence of any external voltage. We derive a number of further experimental consequences and propose potential setups where these quantized, flux induced Witten effects may be observed.
Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval
| Formula | Reported Tc (K) | Pressure (GPa) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| InSb/Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
| HgTe Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
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