Phase diagram and excitations of a Shiba molecule

N. Y. Yao, C. P. Moca, I. Weymann, J. D. Sau, M. D. Lukin, E. A. Demler, G. Zaránd
2014 Physical Review B  
We analyze the phase diagram associated with a pair of magnetic impurities trapped in a superconducting host. The natural interplay between Kondo screening, superconductivity and exchange interactions leads to a rich array of competing phases, whose transitions are characterized by discontinuous changes of the total spin. Our analysis is based on a combination of numerical renormalization group techniques as well as semi-classical analytics. In addition to the expected screened and unscreened
more » ... ases, we observe a new molecular doublet phase where the impurity spins are only partially screened by a single extended quasiparticle. Direct signatures of the various Shiba molecule states can be observed via RF spectroscopy.
doi:10.1103/physrevb.90.241108 fatcat:ovk4dlsnbbb7rj26yubrj3f6fu