Controlling superconducting pairing

Abstract

Superconductivity Interfacing superconductors with materials that have strong spin-orbit coupling can modify the superconductivity in unusual ways. Hart et al. sandwiched a HgTe quantum well between two superconducting leads, forming a junction. Normally, Cooper pairs—whose formation makes materials superconductive—consist of electrons of opposite momenta. Applying a magnetic field in the plane of the well, combined with an unusual electronic spin texture in HgTe, caused the Cooper pairs in the junction to acquire a nonzero total momentum. By comparing their data to theoretical models, the researchers were able to probe the nature of spin-orbit coupling in the system. Nat. Phys. 10.1038/NPHYS3877 (2016).