Spin-Polarized Josephson Supercurrent in Nodeless Altermagnets
Long-range propagation of equal-spin triplet Cooper pairs typically occurs in ferromagnet/$s$-wave superconductor junctions, where net magnetization plays a crucial role. Here, we propose a fundamentally different scenario in which Josephson supercurrents mediated exclusively by spin-triplet pairings emerge in systems with \textit{zero} net magnetization. We identify collinear altermagnets, particularly a subclass termed nodeless altermagnets, as ideal platforms to realize this phenomenon. These materials host spin-split Fermi surfaces that do not intersect altermagnetic nodal lines and support maximal spin-valley polarization, yielding fully spin-polarized electronic states at each valley. Consequently, Josephson junctions based on nodeless altermagnets sustain supercurrents solely through spin-polarized triplet pairing correlations, simultaneously contributed by spin-up Cooper pairs from one valley and spin-down Cooper pairs from the other. Furthermore, controlling the relative local inversion-symmetry breaking at the two interfaces enables a robust 0--$π$ transition without fine tuning, while adjusting the junction orientation allows a crossover between pure triplet and mixed singlet-triplet states. Our work thus establishes nodeless altermagnets as a unique platform for altermagnetic superconductors with magnetization-free spin-polarized supercurrents.
Authors
- Jincai Hou
- Lun‐Hui Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0376-3367)
- Chuang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1890-2064)
- Fu‐Chun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3296-7219)
- Songbo Zhang
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Hefei University (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2026-02-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/ds5z-fxy5
- Primary Topic
- Iron-based superconductors research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00