Pavel M. Ostrovsky

Reflection of particles from a disordered or chaotic medium is characterized by a scattering matrix that can be represented as a superposition of resonances. Each resonance corresponds to an eigenstate inside the medium and has a width related to the decay time of this eigenstate. We develop a general approach to study the distribution function of these resonance widths based on the nonlinear sigma model. We derive an integral representation of the distribution function that works equally well for systems of any symmetry and for any type of coupling to the measuring device. From this integral representation we find explicit analytic expressions for the distribution function in the case of disordered metallic grains. We also compare the analytic results to large-scale numerical simulations and observe their perfect agreement.

Recent experiments on planar superconductor-topological insulator-superconductor (S-TI-S) junctions, e.g., in the Corbino geometry, have reported low-temperature nonzero Josephson currents in states with integer fluxoid (flux) induced in the junction by a perpendicular magnetic field. This effect was discussed in connection with Majorana zero modes localized in Josephson vortices of such junctions. Here, we provide an explanation for this phenomenon, attributing it to imperfections. We focus on the “atomic” limit in which the low-energy bound states of different vortices do not overlap. In this limit, we can associate the nonvanishing critical current with the irregularities, e.g., in the junction's width. The low-temperature contribution to the current is provided by the bound states with low but nonzero energy. We also propose clear experimental tests based on microwave spectroscopy, revealing distinctive selection rules for vortex transitions. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.259902

The presence of both inversion (P) and time-reversal (T) symmetries in solids leads to a double degeneracy of the electronic bands (Kramers degeneracy). By lifting the degeneracy, spin textures manifest themselves in momentum space, as in topological insulators or in strong Rashba materials. The existence of spin textures with Kramers degeneracy, however, is difficult to observe directly. Here, we use quantum interference measurements to provide evidence for the existence of hidden entanglement between spin and momentum in the antiperovskite-type Dirac material Sr₃SnO. We find robust weak antilocalization (WAL) independent of the position of E_F. The observed WAL is fitted using a single interference channel at low doping, which implies that the different Dirac valleys are mixed by disorder. Notably, this mixing does not suppress WAL, suggesting contrasting interference physics compared to graphene. We identify scattering among axially spin-momentum locked states as a key process that leads to a spin-orbital entanglement.

Spin-transfer torques (STT), Gilbert damping (GD), and effective spin renormalization (ESR) are investigated microscopically in a two-dimensional Rashba ferromagnet with spin-independent Gaussian white-noise disorder. Rashba spin-orbit coupling-induced anisotropy of these phenomena is thoroughly analyzed. For the case of two partly filled spin subbands, a remarkable relation between the anisotropic STT, GD, and ESR is established. In the absence of magnetic field and other torques on magnetization, this relation corresponds to a current-induced motion of a magnetic texture with the classical drift velocity of conduction electrons. Finally, we compute spin susceptibility of the system and generalize the notion of spin-polarized current.

We study effects of strong impurities on optical properties of a chiral p x + ip ysuperconductor with broken time-reversal symmetry. Potential impurities create subgap states in the superconductor’s...

We investigate spin-orbit torques on magnetization in an insulating ferromagnetic layer that is brought into close proximity to a topological insulator (TI). In addition to the well-known fieldlike spin-orbit torque, we identify an anisotropic anti-damping-like spin-orbit torque that originates in a diffusive motion of conduction electrons. This diffusive torque is vanishing in the limit of zero momentum (i.e., for a spatially homogeneous electric field or current), but it may, nevertheless, have a strong impact on spin-torque resonance at finite frequency provided the external field is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the TI surface. The required electric-field configuration can be created by a grated top gate.