Abstract: A strong superconducting diode effect (SDE) is revealed in a thin superconducting film periodically nanostructured with magnetic dots. The SDE is caused by the current-activated dissipation mitigated by vortex-antivortex pairs (VAPs), which periodically nucleate under the dots, move and annihilate in the superconductor-eventually driving the system to the high-resistive state. Inversing the polarity of the applied current destimulates the nucleation of VAPs, the system remains superconducting up to far larger currents, leading to the pronounced diodic response. Our dissipative Ginzburg-Landau simulations detail the involved processes, and provide reliable geometric and parametric ranges for the experimental realiza-tion of such a nonvolatile superconducting diode, which operates in the absence of any applied magnetic field while being fluxonic by design.

Abstract: We show numerically that a rotating, harmonically trapped mixture of two Bose-Einstein-condensed superfluids cancontrary to its single-species counterpartcontain a multiply quantized vortex in the ground state of the system. This giant vortex can occur without any accompanying single-quantum vortices, may either be coreless or have an empty core, and can be realized in a Rb87−K41 Bose-Einstein condensate. Our results not only provide a rare example of a stable, solitary multiquantum vortex but also reveal exotic physics stemming from the coexistence of multiple, compositionally distinct condensates in one system.

Abstract: Vortices and vortex arrays have been used as a hallmark of superfluidity in rotated, ultracold Fermi gases. These superfluids can be described in terms of an effective field theory for a macroscopic wave function representing the field of condensed pairs, analogous to the Ginzburg-Landau theory for superconductors. Here we establish how rotation modifies this effective field theory, by rederiving it starting from the action of Fermi gas in the rotating frame of reference. The rotation leads to the appearance of an effective vector potential, and the coupling strength of this vector potential to the macroscopic wave function depends on the interaction strength between the fermions, due to a renormalization of the pair effective mass in the effective field theory. The mass renormalization derived here is in agreement with results of functional renormalization-group theory. In the extreme Bose-Einstein condensate regime, the pair effective mass tends to twice the fermion mass, in agreement with the physical picture of a weakly interacting Bose gas of molecular pairs. Then we use our macroscopic-wave-function description to study vortices and the critical rotation frequencies to form them. Equilibrium vortex state diagrams are derived and they are in good agreement with available results of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory and with experimental data.

Abstract: We report a high-throughput first-principles characterization of the structural, mechanical, electronic, and vibrational properties of tetragonal single-layer transition metal Xenes (t-TMXs). Our calculations revealed 22 dynamically, mechanically and chemically stable structures among the 96 possible free-standing layers present in the t-TMX family. As a fingerprint for their structural identification, we identified four characteristic Raman active phonon modes, namely three in-plane and one out-of-plane optical branches, with various intensities and frequencies depending on the material in question. Spin-polarized electronic calculations demonstrated that anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) metals, ferromagnetic (FM) metals, AFM semiconductors, and non-magnetic semiconductor materials exist within this family, evidencing the potential of t-TMXs for further use in multifunctional heterostructures.

Abstract: In superconducting films under an applied dc current, we analyze experimentally and theoretically the influence of engineered pinning on the vortex velocity at which the flux-flow dissipation undergoes an abrupt transition from low to high resistance. We argue, based on a nonuniform distribution of vortex velocity in the sample, that in strongly disordered systems the mean critical vortex velocity for flux-flow instability (i) has a nonmonotonic dependence on magnetic field and (ii) decreases as the pinning strength is increased. These findings challenge the generally accepted microscopic model of Larkin and Ovchinnikov (1979 J. Low. Temp. Phys. 34 409) and all subsequent refinements of this model which ignore the presence of pinning centers.

Abstract: We report the equilibrium vortex phase diagram of a rotating two-band Fermi gas confined to a cylindrically symmetric parabolic trapping potential, using the recently developed finite-temperature effective field theory (Klimin et al 2016 Phys. Rev. A 94 023620). A non-monotonic resonant dependence of the free energy as a function of the temperature and the rotation frequency is revealed for a two-band superfluid. We particularly focus on novel features that appear as a result of interband interactions and can be experimentally resolved. The resonant dependence of the free energy is directly manifested in vortex phase diagrams, where areas of stability for both integer and fractional vortex states are found. The study embraces the BCS-BEC crossover regime and the entire temperature range below the critical temperature T-c. Significantly different behavior of vortex matter as a function of the interband coupling is revealed in the BCS and BEC regimes.

Abstract: Depending on the Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa, superconductors can either be fully diamagnetic if kappa < 1/root 2 (type I superconductors) or allow magnetic flux to penetrate through Abrikosov vortices if kappa > 1/root 2 (type II superconductors; refs 1,2). At the Bogomolny critical point, kappa = kappa(c) = 1/root 2, a state that is infinitely degenerate with respect to vortex spatial configurations arises(3,4). Despite in-depth investigations of conventional type I and type II superconductors, a thorough understanding of the magnetic behaviour in the near-Bogomolny critical regime at kappa similar to kappa(c) remains lacking. Here we report that in confined systems the critical regime expands over a finite interval of kappa forming a critical superconducting state. We show that in this state, in a sample with dimensions comparable to the vortex core size, vortices merge into a multi-quanta droplet, which undergoes Rayleigh instability(5) on increasing kappa and decays by emitting single vortices. Superconducting vortices realize Nielsen-Olesen singular solutions of the Abelian Higgs model, which is pervasive in phenomena ranging from quantum electrodynamics to cosmology(6-9). Our study of the transient dynamics of Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortices in systems with boundaries promises access to non-trivial effects in quantum field theory by means of bench-top laboratory experiments.

Abstract: Quantized magnetic vortices driven by electric current determine key electromagnetic properties of superconductors. While the dynamic behavior of slow vortices has been thoroughly investigated, the physics of ultrafast vortices under strong currents remains largely unexplored. Here, we use a nanoscale scanning superconducting quantum interference device to image vortices penetrating into a superconducting Pb film at rates of tens of GHz and moving with velocities of up to tens of km/s, which are not only much larger than the speed of sound but also exceed the pair-breaking speed limit of superconducting condensate. These experiments reveal formation of mesoscopic vortex channels which undergo cascades of bifurcations as the current and magnetic field increase. Our numerical simulations predict metamorphosis of fast Abrikosov vortices into mixed Abrikosov-Josephson vortices at even higher velocities. This work offers an insight into the fundamental physics of dynamic vortex states of superconductors at high current densities, crucial for many applications.

Abstract: We demonstrate the in situ engineering of superconducting nanocircuitry by targeted modulation of material properties through high applied current densities. We show that the sequential repetition of such customized electro-annealing in a niobium (Nb) nanoconstriction can broadly tune the superconducting critical temperature T-c and the normal-state resistance R-n in the targeted area. Once a sizable R-n is reached, clear magneto-resistance oscillations are detected along with a Fraunhofer-like field dependence of the critical current, indicating the formation of a weak link but with further adjustable characteristics. Advanced Ginzburg-Landau simulations fully corroborate this picture, employing the detailed parametrization from the electrical characterization and high resolution electron microscope images of the region within the constriction where the material has undergone amorphization by electro-annealing.

Abstract: Two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXenes) are an emerging class of atomically-thin superconductors, whose characteristics are highly prone to tailoring by surface functionalization. Here we explore the use of hydrogen adatoms to enhance phonon-mediated superconductivity in MXenes, based on first-principles calculations combined with Eliashberg theory. We first demonstrate the stability of three different structural models of hydrogenated Mo- and W-based MXenes. Particularly high critical temperatures of over 30 K are obtained for hydrogenated Mo2N and W2N. Several mechanisms responsible for the enhanced electron-phonon coupling are uncovered, namely (i) hydrogen-induced changes in the phonon spectrum of the host MXene, (ii) emerging hydrogen-based phonon modes, and (iii) charge transfer from hydrogen to the MXene layer, boosting the density of states at the Fermi level. Finally, we demonstrate that hydrogen adatoms are moreover able to induce superconductivity in MXenes that are not superconducting in pristine form, such as Nb2C.

Abstract: Understanding the behaviour of vortices under nanoscale confinement in superconducting circuits is important for the development of superconducting electronics and quantum technologies. Using numerical simulations based on the Ginzburg-Landau theory for non-homogeneous superconductivity in the presence of magnetic fields, we detail how lateral confinement organises vortices in a long superconducting nanostripe, presenting a phase diagram of vortex configurations as a function of the stripe width and magnetic field. We discuss why the average vortex density is reduced and reveal that confinement influences vortex dynamics in the dissipative regime under sourced electrical current, mapping out transitions between asynchronous and synchronous vortex rows crossing the nanostripe as the current is varied. Synchronous crossings are of particular interest, since they cause single-mode modulations in the voltage drop along the stripe in a high (typically GHz to THz) frequency range.

Abstract: When approaching the atomically thin limit, defects and disorder play an increasingly important role in the properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. While defects are generally thought to negatively affect superconductivity in 2D materials, here we demonstrate the contrary in the case of oxygenation of ultrathin tantalum disulfide (TaS2). Our first-principles calculations show that incorporation of oxygen into the TaS2 crystal lattice is energetically favorable and effectively heals sulfur vacancies typically present in these crystals, thus restoring the electronic band structure and the carrier density to the intrinsic characteristics of TaS2. Strikingly, this leads to a strong enhancement of the electron-phonon coupling, by up to 80% in the highly oxygenated limit. Using transport measurements on fresh and aged (oxygenated) few-layer TaS2, we found a marked increase of the superconducting critical temperature (T-c) upon aging, in agreement with our theory, while concurrent electron microscopy and electron-energy loss spectroscopy confirmed the presence of sulfur vacancies in freshly prepared TaS2 and incorporation of oxygen into the crystal lattice with time. Our work thus reveals the mechanism by which certain atomic-scale defects can be beneficial to superconductivity and opens a new route to engineer T-c in ultrathin materials.

Abstract: We investigated the valley Zeeman splitting of excitonic peaks in the microphotoluminescence (mu PL) spectra of high-quality hBN/WS2/MoSe2/hBN heterostructures under perpendicular magnetic fields up to 20 T. We identify two neutral exciton peaks in the mu PL spectra; the lower-energy peak exhibits a reduced g-factor relative to that of the higher energy peak and much lower than the recently reported values for interlayer excitons in other van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. We provide evidence that such a discernible g-factor stems from the spatial confinement of the exciton in the potential landscape created by the moire pattern due to lattice mismatch or interlayer twist in heterobilayers. This renders magneto-mu PL an important tool to reach a deeper understanding of the effect of moire patterns on excitonic confinement in vdW heterostructures.

Abstract: Magnetically coupled superconductorferromagnet hybrids offer advanced routes for nanoscale control of superconductivity. Magnetotransport characteristics and scanning tunneling microscopy images of vortex structures in superconductorferromagnet hybrids reveal rich superconducting phase diagrams. Focusing on a particular combination of a ferromagnet with a well-ordered periodic magnetic domain structure with alternating out-of-plane component of magnetization, and a small coherence length superconductor, we find directed nucleation of superconductivity above the domain wall boundaries. We show that near the superconductor-normal state phase boundary the superconductivity is localized in narrow mesoscopic channels. In order to explore the Abrikosov flux line ordering in F/S hybrids, we use a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and GinzburgLandau simulations. The magnetic stripe domain structure induces periodic local magnetic induction in the superconductor, creating a series of pinninganti-pinning channels for externally added magnetic flux quanta. Such laterally confined Abrikosov vortices form quasi-1D arrays (chains). The transitions between multichain states occur through propagation of kinks at the intermediate fields. At high fields we show that the system becomes nonlinear due to a change in both the number of vortices and the confining potential. In F/S/F hybrids we demonstrate the evolution of the anisotropic conductivity in the superconductor that is magnetically coupled with two adjacent ferromagnetic layers. Stripe magnetic domain structures in both F-layers are aligned under each other, resulting in a directional superconducting order parameter in the superconducting layer. The conductance anisotropy strongly depends on the period of the magnetic domains and the strength of the local magnetization. The anisotropic conductivity of up to three orders of magnitude can be achieved with a spatial critical temperature modulation of 5% of T c. Induced anisotropic properties in the F/S and F/S/F hybrids have a potential for future application in switching and nonvolatile memory elements operating at low temperatures.

Abstract: We investigate how the interplay of quantum confinement and level broadening caused by disorder affects superconducting correlations in ultra-small metallic grains. We use the electron-phonon interaction-induced electron mass renormalization and the reduced static-path approximation of the BCS formalism to calculate the critical temperature as a function of the grain size. We show how the strong electron-impurity scattering additionally smears the peak structure in the electronic density of states of a metallic grain and imposes additional limits on the critical temperature under strong quantum confinement.