Spin-polarized superconductivity: Order parameter topology, current dissipation, and multiple-period Josephson effect

Abstract

We discuss transport properties of fully spin-polarized triplet superconductors, where only electrons of one spin component (along a certain axis) are paired. Due to the structure of the order parameter space, wherein phase and spin rotations are intertwined, a configuration where the superconducting phase winds by 4π in space is topologically equivalent to a configuration with no phase winding. This opens the possibility of supercurrent relaxation by a smooth deformation of the order parameter, where the order parameter remains nonzero at any point in space throughout the entire process. During the process, a spin texture is formed. We discuss the conditions for such processes to occur and their physical consequences. In particular, we show that when a voltage is applied, they lead to an unusual alternating-current Josephson effect whose period is an integer multiple of the usual Josephson period. These conclusions are substantiated in a simple time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model for the dynamics of the order parameter. One of the potential applications of our analysis is for moiré systems, such as twisted bilayer and double bilayer graphene, where superconductivity is found in the vicinity of ferromagnetism.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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