Quasiparticle

In physics, quasiparticles and collective excitations (which

are closely related) are emergent phenomena that occur when a
microscopically complicated system such as a solid behaves
as if it contained different weakly interacting particles in
free space. For example, as an electron travels through a
semiconductor, its motion is disturbed in a complex way by its
interactions with all of the other electrons and nuclei; however it
approximately behaves like an electron with a different mass
traveling unperturbed through free space. This "electron" with
a different mass is called an "electron quasiparticle". In
another example, the aggregate motion of electrons in the
valence band of a semiconductor is the same as if the
semiconductor contained instead positively charged
quasiparticles called holes. Other quasiparticles or collective
excitations include phonons (particles derived from the vibrations
of atoms in a solid), plasmons (particles derived from plasma
oscillations), and many others.
These particles are typically called "quasiparticles" if
they are related to fermions (like electrons and holes), and
called "collective excitations" if they are related to bosons
(like phonons and plasmons),although the precise distinction is
not universally agreed upon.
The quasiparticle concept is most important in condensed
matter physics, since it is one of the few known ways of
simplifying the quantum mechanical many-body problem.

Irreversible magnetization switching at the onset of

superconductivity in a superconductor ferromagnet hybrid
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/107/26/10.1
063/1.4938467
We demonstrate that the magnetic state of a
superconducting spin valve, that is normally controlled
with an external magnetic field, can also be manipulated
by varying the temperature which increases the
functionality and flexibility of such structures as switching
elements. In this case, switching is driven by changes in
the magnetostatic energy due to spontaneous Meissner
screening currents forming in the superconductor
below the critical temperature. Our scanning Hall
probe measurements also reveal vortex-mediated pinning
of the ferromagnetic domain structure due to the pinning
of quantized stray fields in the adjacent superconductor.
The ability to use temperature as well as magnetic field to
control the local magnetisation structure raises the
prospect of potential applications in magnetic memory
devices.

stray field: demagnetizing field, H field

Superconducting Spintronics
Traditional studies that combine spintronics and
superconductivity have mainly focused on the injection of
spin-polarized quasiparticles into superconducting
materials. However, a complete synergy between
superconducting and magnetic orders turns out to be
possible through the creation of spin-triplet Cooper
pairs, which are generated at carefully engineered
superconductor interfaces with ferromagnetic
materials. Currently, there is intense activity focused on
identifying materials combinations that merge
superconductivity and spintronics to enhance device
functionality and performance. The results look promising:
it has been shown, for example, that superconducting
order can greatly enhance central effects in spintronics
such as spin injection and magnetoresistance. Here, we
review the experimental and theoretical advances in this
field and provide an outlook for upcoming challenges in
superconducting spintronics.
Non-equilibrium photoexcited carrier effects in a graphene-based
Josephson junction
We studied the superconducting proximity effect under
photoexcitation by illuminating a
superconductor/monolayer graphene/superconductor
(SGS) Josephson junction with monochromatic light at a
wavelength of 1.31m. Although the critical current Ic can
be controlled by the irradiation power P, its variation
cannot be explained by modification of the carrier density,
which has been reported for semiconductor-based
Josephson junctions. The estimated electron temperature
of graphene is proportional to P, where 1/3. This
relation clearly indicates that photogenerated non-
equilibrium carrier dynamics are responsible for the
variation of Ic with P. We suggest that the SGS junction can
directly mediate interactions between the optical field and
the superconducting state.