We develop a symmetry-adapted multipolar k & centerdot; p theory close to the bulk P point for time-reversal-symmetric, noncentrosymmetric C3v crystals in the strong atomic spin-orbit-coupling (j j-coupling) limit. Using a j is an element of {1/2, 3/2, 5/2} multiplet basis appropriate for heavy-element p and d bands, we systematically construct all symmetry-allowed spin-orbit-coupling terms up to fifth order in momentum and generalize the usual spin texture to a total-angular-momentum texture. For j > 1/2, multipolar spin-orbit coupling qualitatively reshapes Fermi surfaces and makes the topology of Bloch states band dependent. This leads to anisotropic high-j textures that go beyond a single Rashba helix. We classify these textures by their total-angular-momentum vorticity Wn for every energy band and identify distinct |W-n| = 1, 2, 5 phases. We show that their crossovers generate enhanced and nonmonotonic current-induced spin-polarization responses, namely, the Edelstein effect, upon tuning the chemical potential. Our results provide a symmetry-based framework for analyzing and predicting multipolar spin-orbit coupling, total-angular-momentum textures, and spintronic responses in heavy-element materials without an inversion center.

The Higgs mode in superconductors corresponds to oscillations of the amplitude of the order parameter. While its detection typically entails resonant optical excitation, we present a purely transport-based setup wherein it is excited in a voltage biased Josephson junction. Demonstrating the importance of order parameter dynamics, the interplay of Higgs resonance and Josephson physics enhances the second harmonic Josephson current oscillating at twice the usual Josephson frequency in transparent junctions featuring single-band s-wave superconductors. If the leads have unequal equilibrium superconducting gaps, this second harmonic component may even eclipse its first harmonic counterpart, thus furnishing a unique hallmark of the Higgs oscillations.

We study the influence of external electric and Zeeman fields on the Josephson effect in a planar superconductor/altermagnet/superconductor junction. Remarkably, we find that the current-phase relation (CPR) can be forward or backward skewed due to a pronounced second harmonic term. It decisively depends on the altermagnetic field strength. This second harmonic can be measured directly using double SQUID devices. The CPR skewness can be effectively manipulated by electric gating. Moreover, we identify two additional impacts of external electric and magnetic fields on the Josephson current: (i) Fields can induce 0-pi transitions. (ii) Fields can substantially enhance the critical current. This enhancement is surprising since supercurrents are typically suppressed by magnetic fields.

We present a microscopic theory of DC current-biased Josephson junctions, resolving long-standing discrepancies in the subharmonic gap structure (SGS) between theoretical predictions and experimental observations. Applicable to junctions with arbitrary transparencies, our approach surpasses existing theories that fail to reproduce all experimentally observed SGS singularities. Introducing a microscopic Floquet framework, we find a novel two-quasiparticle non-equilibrium tunneling process absent in existing lowest-order tunneling approximations. We attribute the origin of the subharmonics to this non-equilibrium tunneling of the Josephson effect. We elaborate this via two complementary perspectives: in the time domain, as the interference of non-equilibrium current pulses, and in the frequency domain, as a generalized form of multiple Andreev reflections. Our framework extends to various types of Josephson junctions, providing insights into Josephson dynamics critical to quantum technologies.

Proper analysis of electron collisions in two spatial dimensions leads to the conclusion, that the odd harmonics of the electron distribution function decay much slower than the even ones at finite temperatures. The number of long-lived odd harmonics quickly shrinks with increasing temperature. Focusing on a channel geometry with boundary scattering, we show that such behavior of the odd decay rates leads to a characteristic behaviour of the conductance that we dub anomalous Knudsen effect: it initially grows with temperature but then starts to decrease, forming a peak. Further increase of the temperature forces the conductance to grow again due to the Gurzhi effect, associated with the crossover from ballistic to hydrodynamic transport. The simultaneous observation of the Gurzhi dip preceded by the anomalous Knudsen peak constitutes a particular signature of the long-lived modes in 2D electron transport at low temperatures.

We demonstrate that random flux is able to drive nontrivial topological phase transitions, in particular between weak topological insulators (WTIs) and Chern insulators (CIs), illustrated on an anisotropic Wilson-Dirac model in two dimensions. Remarkably, an intriguing topological transition sequence WTIs -> CIs -> WTIs occurs with the reentrance to a WTI but of different weak topology, which is unattainable with chemical potential disorder. The involvement of anisotropy and weak topology in such a transition gives rise to emergent quasicritical points, where eigen states are extended in one spatial direction but localized in the other one. This new quantum criticality lies outside the conventional quantum Hall universality class. We provide a comprehensive characterization of the random-flux-induced phase transitions and quantum criticality from both bulk and boundary perspectives. Our results describe a qualitatively new disorder effect based on the interplay of random flux with topological phases of matter.

We propose a phase-biased non-Hermitian Josephson junction (NHJJ) composed of two superconductors mediated by a short non-Hermitian link. Such a NHJJ is described by an effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian derived based on the Lindblad formalism in the weak coupling regime. By solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we find that its Andreev spectrum as a function of phase difference exhibits Josephson gaps, i.e., finite phase windows with no Andreev (quasi)bound states. The complex Andreev spectrum and the presence of Josephson gaps constitute particular spectral features of the NHJJ. Moreover, we propose complex supercurrents arising from inelastic Cooper pair tunneling to characterize the anomalous transport in the NHJJ. Additional numerical simulations complement our analytical predictions. We demonstrate that the Josephson effect is strongly affected by non-Hermitian physics.

The first quantum fractal discovered in physics is the Hofstadter butterfly. It stems from large external magnetic fields. We discover instead a new class of non-Hermitian quantum fractals (NHQFs) emerging in coupled Hatano-Nelson models on a tree lattice in absence of any fields. Based on analytic solutions, we are able to rigorously identify the self-similar recursive structures in energy spectrum and wave functions. We prove that the complex spectrum of NHQFs bears a resemblance to the Mandelbrot set in fractal theory. The self-similarity of NHQFs is rooted in the interplay between the iterative lattice configuration and non-Hermiticity. Moreover, we show that NHQFs exist in generalized non-Hermitian systems with iterative lattice structures. Our findings open a new avenue for investigating quantum fractals in non-Hermitian systems.

We examine 2D electron transport through a long narrow channel driven by an external electric field in presence of diffusive boundary scattering. At zero temperature, we derive an analytical solution of the transition from ballistic to diffusive transport if we increase the bulk disorder strength. This crossover yields characteristic current density profiles. Furthermore, we illustrate the current density in the transition from ballistic to hydrodynamic transport. This corresponds to the Gurzhi effect in the resistivity. We also study the influence of finite temperature on current densities and average current in this system. In particular, we analyze how different scaling laws of scattering with respect to temperature affect the current profile along the channel.

We propose helical topological superconductivity away from the Fermi surface in three-dimensional time-reversal-symmetric odd-parity multiband superconductors. In these systems, pairing between electrons originating from different bands is responsible for the corresponding topological phase transition. Consequently, a pair of helical topological Dirac surface states emerges at finite excitation energies. These helical Dirac surface states are tunable in energy by chemical potential and strength of band splitting. They are protected by time-reversal symmetry combined with crystalline twofold rotation symmetry. We suggest concrete materials in which this phenomenon could be observed.

Odd-frequency pairing is an unconventional type of Cooper pairing in superconductors related to the frequency dependence of the corresponding anomalous Green function. We show by a combination of analytical and numerical methods that odd-frequency pairing is ubiquitously present in the current of Andreev-scattered particles across a junction formed by a normal metal (N) and a superconductor (S), even if the superconducting pairing is of conventional $s$-wave, spin singlet type. We carefully analyze the conductance of NS junctions with different pairing symmetries ($s$-wave, $p$-wave, $d$-wave). In all cases, we identify a generic equal balance of even and odd frequency pairing to the contributions related to Andreev reflection. This analysis shows in retrospect that the presence of odd-frequency pairing in electric currents across NS junctions is rather the rule, not the exception. This insight stems from an alternative approach of analyzing the transport problem of hybrid structures. It is based on the Kubo-Greenwood formula with direct access to symmetries of the anomalous Green functions characterizing the superconducting pairing. We expect that our predictions substantially enrich the interpretation of transport data across NS junctions in many material combinations.

Josephson tunnel junctions exhibit a supercurrent typically proportional to the sine of the superconducting phase difference ϕ. In general, a term proportional to cos(ϕ) is also present, alongside microscopic electronic retardation effects. We show that voltage pulses sharply varying in time prompt a significant impact of the cos(ϕ) term. Its interplay with the sin(ϕ) term results in a nonequilibrium fractional Josephson effect (NFJE) ∼sin(ϕ/2) in the presence of bound states close to zero frequency. Our microscopic analysis reveals that the interference of nonequilibrium virtual quasiparticle excitations is responsible for this phenomenon. We also analyze this phenomenon for topological Josephson junctions with Majorana bound states. Remarkably, the NFJE is independent of the ground state fermion parity unlike its equilibrium counterpart.

We propose a novel spatially inhomogeneous setup for revealing quench-induced fractionalized excitations in entanglement dynamics. In this quench-probe setting, the region undergoing a quantum quench is tunnel coupled to a static region, the probe. Subsequently, the time-dependent entanglement signatures of a tunable subset of excitations propagating to the probe are monitored by energy selectivity. We exemplify the power of this generic approach by identifying a unique dynamical signature associated with the presence of an isolated Majorana zero mode in the postquench Hamiltonian. In this case excitations emitted from the topological part of the system give rise to a fractionalized jump of log(2)/2 in the entanglement entropy of the probe. This dynamical effect is highly sensitive to the localized nature of the Majorana zero mode, but does not require the preparation of a topological initial state.

Josephson junctions (JJs) in the presence of a magnetic field exhibit qualitatively different interference patterns depending on the spatial distribution of the supercurrent through the junction. In JJs based on two-dimensional topological insulators (2DTIs), the electrons/holes forming a Cooper pair (CP) can either propagate along the same edge or be split into the two edges. The former leads to a SQUID-like interference pattern, with the superconducting flux quantum ϕ0 (where ϕ0=h/2e) as a fundamental period. If CPs' splitting is additionally included, the resultant periodicity doubles. Since the edge states are typically considered to be strongly localized, the critical current does not decay as a function of the magnetic field. The present paper goes beyond this approach and inspects a topological JJ in the tunneling regime featuring extended edge states. It is here considered the possibility that the two electrons of a CP propagate and explore the junction independently over length scales comparable to the superconducting coherence length. As a consequence of the spatial extension, a decaying pattern with different possible periods is obtained. In particular, it is shown that, if crossed Andreev reflections (CARs) are dominant and the edge states overlap, the resulting interference pattern features oscillations whose periodicity approaches 2ϕ0.

Fluctuationsin planar magnetotransport are ubiquitousin topologicalHgTe structures, in both tensile (topological insulator) and compressivelystrained layers (Weyl semimetal phase). We show that the common reasonfor the fluctuations is the presence of tilted Dirac cones combinedwith the formation of charge puddles. The origin of the tilted Diraccones is the mix of the Zeeman term due to the in-plane magnetic fieldand quadratic contributions to the dispersion relation. We developa network model that mimics the transport of tilted Dirac fermionsin the landscape of charge puddles. The model captures the essentialfeatures of the experimental data. It should be relevant for the interpretationof planar magnetotransport in a variety of topological and small bandgap materials.

Interfacing superconductors with magnetic or topological materials offers a playground where novel phenomena like topological superconductivity, Majorana zero modes, or superconducting spintronics are emerging. In this work, we discuss recent developments in the Kohn-Sham Bogoliubov-de Gennes method, which allows to perform material-specific simulations of complex superconducting heterostructures on the basis of density functional theory. As a model system we study magnetically-doped Pb. In our analysis we focus on the interplay of magnetism and superconductivity. This combination leads to Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) in-gap bound states at magnetic defects and the breakdown of superconductivity at larger impurity concentrations. Moreover, the influence of spin-orbit coupling and on orbital splitting of YSR states as well as the appearance of a triplet component in the order parameter is discussed. These effects can be exploited in S/F/S-type devices (S=superconductor, F=ferromagnet) in the field of superconducting spintronics.

We study symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase transitions induced by stacking two gapped one-dimensional subsystems in BDI symmetry class. The topological invariant of the entire system is a sum of three topological invariants: two from each subsystem and an emerging topological invariant from the stacking. We find that any symmetry-preserving stacking of topologically trivial subsystems can drive the entire system into a topologically nontrivial phase. We explain this intriguing SPT phase transitions by conditions set by orbital degrees of freedom and time-reversal symmetry. To exemplify the SPT transition, we provide a concrete model which consists of an atomic chain and a spinful nanowire with spin-orbit interaction and $s$-wave superconducting order. The stacking-induced SPT transition drives this heterostructure into a zero-field topological superconducting phase.

Multiband effects in hybrid structures provide a rich playground for unconventional superconductivity. We combine two complementary approaches based on density-functional theory (DFT) and effective low-energy model theory in order to investigate the proximity effect in a Rashba surface state in contact with an s-wave superconductor. We discuss these synergistic approaches and combine the effective model and DFT analysis at the example of a Au/Al heterostructure. This allows us to predict finite-energy superconducting pairing due to the interplay of the Rashba surface state of Au, and hybridization with the electronic structure of superconducting Al. We investigate the nature of the induced superconducting pairing, and we quantify its mixed singlet-triplet character. Our findings demonstrate general recipes to explore real material systems that exhibit interorbital pairing away from the Fermi energy.

The Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes (BBH) quadrupole insulator model is a cornerstone model for higher-order topological phases. It requires π-flux threading through each plaquette of the two-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. Recent studies showed that particular π-flux patterns can modify the fundamental domain of momentum space from the shape of a torus to a Klein bottle with emerging topological phases. By designing different π-flux patterns, we propose two types of Klein-bottle BBH models. These models show rich topological phases, including Klein-bottle quadrupole insulators and Dirac semimetals. The phase with nontrivial Klein-bottle topology shows twined edge modes at open boundaries. These edge modes can further support second-order topology, yielding a quadrupole insulator. Remarkably, both models are robust against flux perturbations. Moreover, we show that different π-flux patterns dramatically affect the phase diagram of the Klein-bottle BBH models. Going beyond the original BBH model, Dirac semimetal phases emerge in Klein-bottle BBH models featured by the coexistence of twined edge modes and bulk Dirac points.

The non-Hermitian skin effect is a unique phenomenon in which an extensive number of eigenstates are localized at the boundaries of a non-Hermitian system. Recent studies show that the non-Hermitian skin effect is significantly suppressed by magnetic fields. In contrast, we demonstrate that the second-order skin effect (SOSE) is robust and can even be enhanced by magnetic fields. Remarkably, SOSE can also be induced by magnetic fields from a trivial non-Hermitian system that does not experience any skin effect at zero field. These properties are intimately related to to the persistence and emergence of topological line gaps in the complex energy spectrum in the presence of magnetic fields. Moreover, we show that a magnetic field can drive a non-Hermitian system from a hybrid skin effect, where the first-order skin effect and SOSE coexist, to pure SOSE. Our results describe a qualitatively new magnetic field behavior of the non-Hermitian skin effect.