Detection of Striped Superconductors Using Magnetic Field Modulated Josephson Effect

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to detect striped superconductors, specifically in La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$, by using magnetic field modulated Josephson effect to directly observe their unique superconducting order parameter.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental technique employing magnetic field modulated Josephson effect to identify striped superconducting states.

Findings

Proposes magnetic field modulated Josephson effect as a detection method.

Links the superconducting order parameter to observable Josephson phenomena.

Provides a direct experimental approach for striped superconductor identification.

Abstract

In a very interesting recent Letter\cite{berg}, the authors suggested that a novel form of superconducting state is realized in La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$ with $x$ close to 1/8. This suggestion was based on experiments\cite{li} on this compound which found predominantly two-dimensional (2D) characters of the superconducting state, with extremely weak interplane coupling. Later this specific form of superconducting state was termed striped superconductors\cite{berg08}. The purpose of this note is to point out that the suggested form\cite{berg} of the superconducting order parameter can be detected directly using magnetic field modulated Josephson effect.