4π-periodic Josephson supercurrent in HgTe-based topological Josephson junctions.

ABSTRACT: The Josephson effect describes the generic appearance of a supercurrent in a weak link between two superconductors. Its exact physical nature deeply influences the properties of the supercurrent. In recent years, considerable efforts have focused on the coupling of superconductors to the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator. In such a material, an unconventional induced p-wave superconductivity should occur, with a doublet of topologically protected gapless Andreev bound states, whose energies vary 4π-periodically with the superconducting phase difference across the junction. In this article, we report the observation of an anomalous response to rf irradiation in a Josephson junction made of a HgTe weak link. The response is understood as due to a 4π-periodic contrib

SUBMITTER: Wiedenmann J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4735757 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature