Nonreciprocal Josephson Linear Response.

We consider the finite-frequency response of multiterminal Josephson junctions and show how nonreciprocity in them can show up at linear response, in contrast to the static Josephson diodes featuring nonlinear nonreciprocity. At finite frequencies, the response contains dynamic contributions to the Josephson admittance, featuring the effects of Andreev bound state transitions along with Berry phase effects, and reflecting the breaking of the same symmetries as in Josephson diodes. We show that outside exact Andreev resonances, the junctions feature nonreciprocal reactive response. As a result, the microwave transmission through those systems is nondissipative, and the electromagnetic scattering can approach complete nonreciprocity. Besides providing information about the nature of the weak link energy levels, the nonreciprocity can be utilized to create nondissipative and small-scale on-chip circulators whose operation requires only rather small magnetic fields.

Dynamics of Two Ferromagnetic Insulators Coupled by Superconducting Spin Current.

A conventional superconductor sandwiched between two ferromagnets can maintain coherent equilibrium spin current. This spin supercurrent results from the rotation of odd-frequency spin correlations induced in the superconductor by the magnetic proximity effect. In the absence of intrinsic magnetization, the superconductor cannot maintain multiple rotations of the triplet component but instead provides a Josephson type weak link for the spin supercurrent. We determine the analog of the current-phase relation in various circumstances and show how it can be accessed in experiments on dynamic magnetization. In particular, concentrating on the magnetic hysteresis and the ferromagnetic resonance response, we show how the spin supercurrent affects the nonequilibrium dynamics of magnetization which depends on a competition between spin supercurrent mediated static exchange contribution and a dynamic spin pumping contribution. Depending on the outcome of this competition, a mode crossing in the system can either be an avoided crossing or mode locking.

Surprising superconductivity of graphene.

An ordinary graphene bilayer exhibits extraordinary superconductivity.

Polariton response in the presence of Brownian dissipation from molecular vibrations.

We study the elastic response of a stationarily driven system of a cavity field strongly coupled with molecular excitons, taking into account the main dissipation channels due to the finite cavity linewidth and molecular vibrations. We show that the frequently used coupled oscillator model fails in describing this response especially due to the non-Lorentzian dissipation of the molecules to their vibrations. Signatures of this failure are the temperature dependent minimum point of the polariton peak splitting, the uneven polariton peak height at the minimum splitting, and the asymmetric shape of the polariton peaks even at the experimentally accessed "zero-detuning" point. Using a rather generic yet representative model of molecular vibrations, we predict the polariton response in various conditions, depending on the temperature, molecular Stokes shift and vibration frequencies, and the size of the Rabi splitting. Our results can be used as a sanity check of the experiments trying to "prove" results originating from strong coupling, such as vacuum-enhanced chemical reaction rate.

Flat-band superconductivity in periodically strained graphene: mean-field and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition.

In the search of high-temperature superconductivity one option is to focus on increasing the density of electronic states. Here we study both the normal and s-wave superconducting state properties of periodically strained graphene, which exhibits approximate flat bands with a high density of states, with the flatness tunable by the strain profile. We generalize earlier results regarding a one-dimensional harmonic strain to arbitrary periodic strain fields, and further extend the results by calculating the superfluid weight and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition temperature T BKT to determine the true transition point. By numerically solving the self-consistency equation, we find a strongly inhomogeneous superconducting order parameter, similarly to twisted bilayer graphene. In the flat-band regime the order parameter magnitude, critical chemical potential, critical temperature, superfluid weight, and BKT transition temperature are all approximately linear in the interaction strength, which suggests that high-temperature superconductivity might be feasible in this system. We especially show that by using realistic strain strengths T BKT can be made much larger than in twisted bilayer graphene, if using similar interaction strengths. We also calculate properties such as the local density of states that could serve as experimental fingerprints for the presented model.

Electron Induced Massive Dynamics of Magnetic Domain Walls.

We study the dynamics of domain walls (DWs) in a metallic, ferromagnetic nanowire, focusing on inertial effects on the DW due to interaction with a conduction electron bath. We develop a Keldysh collective coordinate technique to describe the effect of conduction electrons on rigid magnetic structures. The effective Lagrangian and Langevin equations of motion for a DW are derived microscopically, including the full response kernel which is nonlocal in time. The DW dynamics is described by two collective degrees of freedom: position and tilt-angle. The coupled Langevin equations therefore involve two correlated noise sources, leading to a generalized fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT). The DW response kernel due to electrons contains two parts: one related to dissipation via FDT, and another reactive part. We prove that the latter term leads to a mass for both degrees of freedom, even though the intrinsic bare mass is zero. The electron-induced mass is present even in a clean system without pinning or specifically engineered potentials. The resulting equations of motion contain rich dynamical solutions and point toward a way to control domain wall motion in metals via the electronic system properties. We discuss two observable consequences of the mass, hysteresis in the DW dynamics and resonant response to ac current.

Lindblad-equation approach for the full counting statistics of work and heat in driven quantum systems.

We formulate the general approach based on the Lindblad equation to calculate the full counting statistics of work and heat produced by driven quantum systems weakly coupled with a Markovian thermal bath. The approach can be applied to a wide class of dissipative quantum systems driven by an arbitrary force protocol. We show the validity of general fluctuation relations and consider several generic examples. The possibilities of using calorimetric measurements to test the presence of coherence and entanglement in the open quantum systems are discussed.

Multimode circuit optomechanics near the quantum limit.

The coupling of distinct systems underlies nearly all physical phenomena. A basic instance is that of interacting harmonic oscillators, giving rise to, for example, the phonon eigenmodes in a lattice. Of particular importance are the interactions in hybrid quantum systems, which can combine the benefits of each part in quantum technologies. Here we investigate a hybrid optomechanical system having three degrees of freedom, consisting of a microwave cavity and two micromechanical beams with closely spaced frequencies around 32 MHz and no direct interaction. We record the first evidence of tripartite optomechanical mixing, implying that the eigenmodes are combinations of one photonic and two phononic modes. We identify an asymmetric dark mode having a long lifetime. Simultaneously, we operate the nearly macroscopic mechanical modes close to the motional quantum ground state, down to 1.8 thermal quanta, achieved by back-action cooling. These results constitute an important advance towards engineering of entangled motional states.

Theory of microwave-assisted supercurrent in diffusive SNS junctions.

The observation of very large microwave-enhanced critical currents in superconductor-normal-metal-superconductor (SNS) junctions at temperatures well below the critical temperature of the electrodes has remained without a satisfactory theoretical explanation for more than three decades. Here we present a theory of the supercurrent in diffusive SNS junctions under microwave irradiation based on the quasiclassical Green's function formalism. We show that the enhancement of the critical current is due to the energy redistribution of the quasiparticles in the normal wire induced by the electromagnetic field. The theory provides predictions across a wide range of temperatures, frequencies, and radiation powers, both for the critical current and the current-phase relationship.

Supercurrent-induced temperature gradient across a nonequilibrium SNS Josephson junction.

Using tunneling spectroscopy, we have measured the local electron energy distribution function in the normal part of a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junction containing an extra lead to a normal reservoir. In the presence of simultaneous supercurrent and injected quasiparticle current, the distribution function exhibits a sharp feature at very low energy. The feature is odd in energy and odd under reversal of either the supercurrent or the quasiparticle current direction. The feature represents an effective temperature gradient across the SNS Josephson junction that is controllable by the supercurrent.

Slow vibrations in transport through molecules.

We show how one can measure the signal from slow jumps of a single molecule between metastable positions using a setup where the molecule is fixed to one lead and one of the coupling strengths is controlled externally. Such a measurement yields information about slow processes deforming the molecule in times much longer than the characteristic time scales for the electron transport process.

Resonant tunnelling through a C(60) molecular junction in a liquid environment.

We present electronic transport measurements through thiolated C(60) molecules in a liquid environment. The molecules were placed within a mechanically controllable break junction using a single anchoring group per molecule. On varying the electrode separation of the C(60)-modified junctions, we observed a peak in the conductance traces. The shape of the curves is strongly influenced by the environment of the junction as shown by measurements in two distinct solvents. In the framework of a simple resonant tunnelling model, we can extract the electronic tunnelling rates governing the transport properties of the junctions.

Thermopower induced by a supercurrent in superconductor-normal-metal structures.

We examine the thermopower Q of a mesoscopic normal-metal (N) wire in contact with superconducting (S) segments and show that even with electron-hole symmetry Q may become finite due to the presence of supercurrents. Moreover, we show how the dominant part of Q can be directly related to the equilibrium supercurrents in the structure. In general, a finite thermopower appears both between the N reservoirs and the superconductors and between the N reservoirs themselves. The latter, however, strongly depends on the geometrical symmetry of the structure.

Measuring non-Gaussian fluctuations through incoherent cooper-pair current.

We study a Josephson junction (JJ) in the regime of incoherent Cooper-pair tunneling, capacitively coupled to a nonequilibrium noise source. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the JJ are sensitive to the excess voltage fluctuations in the source, and can thus be used for wideband noise detection. Under weak driving, the odd part of the I-V can be related to the second cumulant of noise, whereas the even part is due to the third cumulant. After calibration, one can measure the Fano factors for the noise source, and get information about the frequency dependence of the noise.