Influence of the Rashba effect on the Josephson current through a superconductor/Luttinger liquid/superconductor tunnel junction

Abstract

The Josephson current through a 1D quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit and electron-electron interactions is calculated. We show that the interplay of Rashba and Zeeman interactions gives rise to a supercurrent through the 1D conductor that is anomalous in the sense that it persists in the absence of any phase difference between the two superconducting leads to which it is attached. The electron dispersion asymmetry induced by the Rashba interaction in a Luttinger-liquid wire plays a significant role for poorly transmitting junctions. It is shown that for a weak or moderate electron-electron interaction the spectrum of plasmonic modes confined to the normal part of the junction becomes quasi-random in the presence of dispersion asymmetry.