Phase-Dependent Electronic Specific Heat in Mesoscopic Josephson Junctions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how superconducting correlations affect the electronic specific heat in mesoscopic Josephson junctions, revealing phase-tunable deviations from normal state behavior using Green's function theory.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical framework for understanding phase-dependent specific heat in Josephson junctions, including finite temperature effects and junction parameters.

Findings

Proximity effect causes significant deviation in specific heat.

Specific heat can be tuned by changing the phase difference.

A measurement setup to verify predictions is proposed.

Abstract

We study the influence of superconducting correlations on the electronic specific heat in a diffusive superconductor-normal metal-superconductor Josephson junction. We present a description of this system in the framework of the diffusive-limit Green's function theory, taking into account finite temperatures, phase difference as well as junction parameters. We find that proximity effect may lead to a substantial deviation of the specific heat as compared to that in the normal state, and that it can be largely tuned in magnitude by changing the phase difference between the superconductors. A measurement setup to confirm these predictions is also suggested.