Using the framework of the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG), we study a quantum dot coupled to a superconducting nanowire with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Regarding the singlet-to-doublet "0-$π$" transition that takes place when the Kondo effect is overcome by the superconducting gap, we show that the Rashba coupling modifies the critical values at which the transition occurs, favouring the doublet phase. In addition, using a generalized Haldane's formula for the Kondo temperature $T_K$, we show that it is lowered by the Rashba coupling. We benchmark our DMRG results comparing them with previous numerical renormalization group (NRG) results. The excellent agreement obtained opens the possibility of studying chains or clusters of impurities coupled to superconductors by the means of DMRG.
We study the Kondo screening of a magnetic impurity in a two-dimensional superconductor with Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). It is found that the Rashba interaction generates a novel Kondo screening channel, in which the local moment is screened by the exchange coupling with conduction electrons in different spin and orbital states. The Kondo temperature associated with this process is determined by the interplay between the Rashba SOC and superconducting energy gap. As a result, the quantum phase transition between the magnetic doublet and Kondo singlet ground states is significantly affect…
The combination of strong spin orbit coupling and strong correlations holds tremendous potential for interesting physical phenomena as well as applications in spintronics and quantum computation. In this context, we here study the interplay between the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (RSOC) and the Kondo screening in noncentrosymmetric $f$-electron materials. We show that the Kondo coupling of the $f$-electrons becomes anisotropic at high temperatures due to the RSOC. However, an isotropic Kondo effect is restored at low temperature which leads to a complete Kondo screening. We furthermore demonstr…
An Anderson model for a magnetic impurity in a two-dimensional electron gas with bulk Rashba spin-orbit interaction is solved using the numerical renormalization group under two different experimental scenarios. For a fixed Fermi energy, the Kondo temperature T_K varies weakly with Rashba coupling α, as reported previously. If instead the band filling is low and held constant, increasing αcan drive the system into a helical regime with exponential enhancement of T_K. Under either scenario, thermodynamic properties at low temperatures T exhibit the same dependences on T/T_K as are found for α= …
The non-interacting and non-Hermitian, parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$)-symmetric Anderson model exhibits an exceptional point (EP) at a non-Hermitian coupling $g=1$, which remains unrenormalized in the presence of interactions (Lourenco et al, arXiv:1806.03116), where the EP was shown to coincide with the quantum critical point (QCP) for Kondo destruction. In this work, we consider a quantum dot hybridizing with metallic leads having Rashba spin-orbit coupling ($λ$). We show that for a non-Hermitian hybridization, $λ$ can renormalize the exceptional point even in the non-interacting case, stabili…
We investigate the quasiparticle excitations in the FFLO- type helical state of a superconductor with inversion-symmetry breaking and strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We restrict to a state with single finite momentum of Cooper pairs in the helical phase that is determined by minimization of the condensation energy. We derive the dependence of quasiparticle dispersions on the Rashba coupling strength and external field. It leads to a peculiar momentum-space segmentation of the corresponding Rashba Fermi surface sheets which has not yet been observed experimentally. We show that it may be dir…
Realization of Kondo lattice in superconducting van der Waals materials not only provides a unique opportunity for tuning the Kondo lattice behavior by electrical gating or intercalation, but also is helpful for further understanding the heavy fermion superconductivity. Here we report a low-temperature and vector-magnetic-field scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study on a superconducting compound (4Hb-TaS2) with alternate stacking of 1T-TaS2 and 1H-TaS2 layers. We observe the quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity in the 1H-TaS2 layer with anisotropic response to the in-plane and…
We report on a novel exchange mechanism, mediating the Kondo screening, in a correlated double quantum dot structure in the proximity of superconductor, stemming from nonlocal Andreev reflection processes. We estimate its strength perturbatively and corroborate analytical predictions with accurate numerical renormalization group calculations using an effective model for the superconductor-proximized nanostructure. We demonstrate that superconductor-induced exchange leads to a two-stage Kondo screening. We determine the dependence of the Kondo temperature on the coupling to superconductor and p…
A one-dimensional time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor hosts a Majorana Kramers pair at each end, where time-reversal symmetry acts as a supersymmetry that flips local fermion parity. We examine the transport anomaly of such a superconductor, floating and tunnel-coupled to normal leads at its two ends. We demonstrate the realization of a topologically-protected, channel-symmetric, two-channel Kondo effect without fine-tuning. Whereas the nonlocal teleportation vanishes, a lead present at one end telecontrols the universal transport through the other end.
We give a brief review of the Mott-Kondo scenario and its consequence in the recently-discovered infinite-layer nickelate superconductors. We argue that the parent state is a self-doped Mott insulator and propose an effective $t$-$J$-$K$ model to account for its low-energy properties. At small doping, the model describes a low carrier density Kondo system with incoherent Kondo scattering at finite temperatures, in good agreement with experimental observation of the logarithmic temperature dependence of electric resistivity. Upon increasing Sr doping, the model predicts a breakdown of the Kondo…
Using the numerical renormalization group method, the effect due to a Kondo impurity in an $s$-wave superconductor is examined at finite temperature ($T$). The $T$-behaviors of the spectral function and the magnetic moment at the impurity site are calculated. At $T$=0, the spin due to the impurity is in singlet state when the ratio between the Kondo temperature $T_k$ and the superconducting gap $Δ$ is larger than 0.26. Otherwise, the spin of the impurity is in a doublet state. We show that the separation of the double Yu-Shiba-Rusinov peaks in the spectral function shrinks as $T$ increases if …
We examine the transport properties of a double quantum dot system coupled to a topological superconducting nanowire hosting Majorana quasiparticles at its ends, with the central quantum dot attached to the left and right leads. We focus on the behavior of the local density of states and the linear conductance, calculated with the aid of the numerical renormalization group method, to describe the influence of the Majorana coupling on the low-temperature transport properties induced by the Kondo correlations. In particular, we show that the presence of Majorana quasiparticles in the system affe…
Spin-triplet $p$-wave superconductors are promising candidates for topological superconductors. They have been proposed in various heterostructures where a material with strong spin-orbit interaction is coupled to a conventional $s$-wave superconductor by proximity effect. However, topological superconductors existing in nature and driven purely by strong electron correlations are yet to be studied. Here we propose a realization of such a system in a class of Kondo lattice materials in the absence of spin-orbit coupling and proximity effect. Therein, the odd-parity Kondo hybridization mediates…
We show that a junction of three off-critical quantum Ising chains can be regarded as a quantum spin chain realization of the two-channel spin-1/2 overscreened Kondo effect with two superconducting leads. We prove that, as long as the Kondo temperature is larger than the superconducting gap, the equivalent Kondo model flows towards the 2 channel Kondo fixed point. We argue that our system provides the first controlled realization of 2 channel Kondo effect with superconducting leads. This, besides its the theoretical interest, is of importance for potential applications to a number of context, …
Magnetic impurities embedded in a metal are screened by the Kondo effect, signaled by the formation of an extended correlation cloud, the so-called Kondo or screening cloud. In a superconductor, the Kondo state turns into sub-gap Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (Shiba) states, and a quantum phase transition occurs between screened and unscreened phases once the superconducting energy gap $Δ$ becomes sufficiently large compared to the Kondo temperature, $T_K$. Here we show that, although the Kondo state does not form in the unscreened phase, the Kondo cloud does exist in both quantum phases. However, while sc…
