Josephson junctions

The mechanism of the Josephson effect can be described on the basis of a simple model which
ignores many of the microscopic details of the exact hamiltonian. One nonethelees needs to say
a few words on superconductivity. Very roughly: the lattice vibrations induce a weak attraction
amongst electrons, which without forming true bound sates nonetheless form correlated pairs.
These pairs behave as bosons which may experience a type of Bose-Einstein condensation, leading
to a superconductive phase.
Of course, the physics of the phenomenon is more subtle, and has been understood microscop-
ically only in 1957 (by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer), whereas superconductivity had been first
observed by Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911. One will use here a primitive approach due to London (
1940) in which the superconductive state is described by a single wave function (~r ) (wave
R 3 functions
of the pairs). Upon a rescaling, one can normalise the wave-function according to d r||2 = N
and then |(~r )|2 plays the role of a superconducting density.

1 Phenomenological description

superconductors
One considers the configuration illustrated on the
d
opposite figure: two superconductors are separated 11
00
by a thin insulator. One denotes by |i the quan-
00
11
00
11
x 00
11
tum state describing superconductor ( = 1 ou 00
11
00
11
2). The system is described by 00
11
00
11
(1) 00
11 (2)
00
11
|(t)i = 1 (t) |1i + 2 (t) |2i . 00
11
00
11
00
11
With our normalizing conventions | (t)|2 is the 00
11
00
11
00
11
number of pairs on side , one notes this quantity
z
as N (t), and
p insulator
(t) = N (t) exp{i (t)} .
Schematic representation of a Josephson junction.
The dynamics of the system is governed by a two-level hamiltonian (K is the matrix element
describing the tunneling of pairs between the superconductors)
 
U1 K
H= . (1)
K U2

From Schrodinger equation i ~ t |i = H|i one easily obtains the equations of motion:
( ( p
~N1 = 2 K N1 N2 sin(2 1 ) , ~ 1 = U1 + K N2 /N1 cos(2 1 ) ,
p (2)
~N2 = 2 K N1 N2 sin(2 1 ) , ~ 2 = U2 + K N1 /N2 cos(2 1 ) .

As expected, N = N1 (t) + N2 (t) is a constant: it is the number of pairs in the system.

1
p If K = 0 (no coupling between the superconductive regions) then N1 = N2 = 0 and (t) =
N (0) exp{i U t/~}. The phases of the two superconductors evolve independently. The relative
phase increases linearly with time. This behavior has been tested in a Bose-Einstein condensate,
cf. Y. Shin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050405 (2004).

If K 6= 0. One defines (t) = 2 (t) 1 (t) and n(t) = N1 (t) N2 (t) (N1 = (N + n)/2 and
N2 = (N n)/2). One considers the regime |n|  N . Then, the leading order equations for and
n read
2K N U1 U2
n = sin() , = . (3)
~ ~
The solutions of (3) are

U1 U2 2K N
(t) = t + (0) and n(t) = {cos (t) cos (0)} + n(0) .
~ U1 U2
One thus has a current
 
q qK U1 U2
I(t) = q N2 (t) = n(t) = N sin t + (0) , (4)
2 ~ ~

where q = 2 e (e > 0) because one considers pairs of electrons. The difference U2 U1 can be
monitored by a continuous source of tension between the two superconductors. If one imposes that
this difference is zero, Eq. (4) shows that a Josephson junction can support a continuous current
without potential difference. If the potential difference is finite and constant (U2 U1 = q V ), one
witnesses the apparition of an oscillating current with angular frequency1 2 e V /~.

2 Josephson effect in a Bose-Einstein condensate

One can implement the analogous of a Josephson junction in a BEC by using a double well potential.
In this case, the system can still schematically be described by a 2 2 matrix, but the role of
the U matrix elements is played by the chemical potential of well . When the well are
symmetrical, the equilibrioum configuration corresponds to N1 = N2 = N/2 and 1 = 2 . Because
of interaction between the particles, depends on N , in a way which can be described under the
form2 (N ) = (N ), where (N ) is a supposedly know function, and one can write at leading
order:     
N n N n 
(N1/2 ) = ' .
2 2 2 N N/2

Hence the system (3) reads here (defining EJ = 2 K N/~ and EC = ~1 /N ) 3

n = EJ sin() , = EC n . (5)
1
The present time definition of the volt relies on this phenomenon. When V = 1 mV, the frequency f is f =
2 e V /h = 483, 6 GHz, with an uncertainty |fmes /fmes | < 1016 .
2
Still considering symetrical wells.
3
It is clear that EC > 0 because the interaction between particles is repulsive. EJ is also positive because
K = h1|H|2i < 0. Indeed, denoting as |+ i the ground state (even) of H and | i the first excited state (odd) one
has |1i = 12 (|+ i+| i) and |2i = 12 (|+ i| i). It is then clear that h1|H|2i = 12 h+ |H|+ i 12 h |H| i < 0.

2
System (5) formally corresponds to a classical n
pendulum with hamiltonian
1
Heff = EC n2 EJ cos ,
2

the phase portait of which is represented on
the opposite figure. One has two types of
motion: librations around the origine (in
which both n and oscillate around zero)
and rotations in which n varies slowly in time,
and increases with not limit. Phase portrait of the simple pendulum.

These two types of motion have been observed by the group of Oberthaler at Heidelberg, see
below.

Josephson oscillations (analogous to libration) and self-trapping (analogous to rotation) for a BEC in
a double well potential, from M. Albiez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 010402 (2005).

3
3 Long Josephson junctions
First one introduces new notations: the potential difference between the two ends of the junction
is V2 V1 = V > 0, then U2 U1 = qV = 2eV (e > 0) and

2eV
= , I = I0 sin , (6)
~
where4 I0 = 2eN K/~.

One now considers a system extended in the x direction (cf. first figure) in which V and
now depend on (x, t). However5 V /d  |x V |, hence in the insulating region one can make the
approximation:
E~ ' Ez (x, t) ~ez = V (x, t) ~ez = ~ t ~ez . (7)
d 2ed
The Maxwell-Faraday equation ( ~ E ~ = t B) ~ gives x Ez = t By (whereas t Bx = 0 = t Bz ).
Hence, in the insulating region one can take

~ = By (x, t) ~ey , ~
B where By (x, t) = x . (8)
2ed
~ B
Writing the Maxwell-Ampere equation in the insulating region ( ~ = 0 (J~ + t E),
~ where is
the dielectric constant of the insulator) one gets

x By = 0 (J + t Ez ) . (9)

In this expression J is the Josephson current: J = I/S = I0 sin /S where S is the area of the
junction. Using Eqs. (7) and (8) one can rewrite (9) under the form

tt c2 xx + 02 sin = 0 , (10)

where 02 = 2(e d/~)c2 0 I0 /S and c2 = (0 )1 . A more detailled treatment showes that the expres-
sion for c2 has to be modified, and that one typically needs to introduce loss terms corresponding
to a current associated with the normal carriers in the system.
Equation (10) is known as the sine-Gordon equation (in analogy with the Klein-Gordon equa-
tion). In the absence of x-dependence, note the similarity with Eq. (5) (just take 02 = EC EJ ).

4
I0 is certainly negative: if initially = 0, then at small time I ' I0 2eV t/~ and since V > 0 and since the carriers
are negatively charged, one wants initially I < 0, i.e., I0 < 0 (remember: e > 0 with our conventions).
5
d is the width of the insulating region, cf. first figure.