Spontaneous supercurrents and vortex depinning in two-dimensional arrays of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>φ</mml:mi> <mml:mn>0</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:math> Josephson junctions
Two-dimensional arrays of ballistic Josephson junctions are important as model systems for synthetic quantum materials. Here, we investigate arrays of multiterminal junctions which exhibit a phase difference ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}$ at zero current. When applying an in-plane magnetic field, we observe nonreciprocal vortex depinning currents. We explain this effect in terms of a ratchetlike pinning potential, which is induced by spontaneous supercurrent loops. Supercurrent loops arise in multiterminal ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}$ junction arrays as a consequence of next-nearest-neighbor Josephson coupling. Tuning the density of vortices to commensurate values of the frustration parameter results in an enhancement of the ratchet effect. In addition, we find a surprising sign reversal of the ratchet effect near frustration 1/3. Our work calls for the search for novel magnetic structures in artificial crystals in the absence of time-reversal symmetry.
Authors
- Christoph Strunk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9982-0022)
- Simon Reinhardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5266-7355)
- Sergei Gronin
- Christian Baumgärtner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3763-5195)
- Alexander-Georg Penner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2868-6553)
- L. I. Glazman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2870-3387)
- Felix von Oppen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2537-7256)
- Tyler Lindemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2884-5502)
- Jorge Berger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1900-6707)
- Nicola Paradiso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1797-2901)
- G. C. Gardner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5469-9257)
- Michael J. Manfra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2049-8438)
Institutions
- Cornell University (US)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Yale University (US)
- University of Regensburg (DE)
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. B./Physical review. B
- Published
- 2025-11-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/31zv-84hw
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.26