Microscopic Theory of Non-Reciprocal Dissipative Current in Diffusive SNS Junctions

We develop a microscopic theory of non-reciprocal currents in the dissipative state in diffusive SNS junctions. A new contribution to the non-linear conductance arises from the combination of a Zeeman field and Rashba spin-orbit coupling in the normal metal. Further, this contribution arises due to inelastic scattering and is proportional to the inelastic scattering time  \tau_{in}. Therefore it can be much larger than the conventional contribution which is proportional to the elastic scattering time \tau_{el}. We study this new contribution for both high and low transmission coefficient of the boundary.

Short Bio

Michael Smith is a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Lab, receiving his PhD from the University of Washington under Anton Andreev. His research interest is electron transport in strongly correlated and topological materials.