Non-equilibrium Effects in the Thermal Switching of Underdamped Josephson Junctions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the impact of non-equilibrium effects on thermal switching in underdamped Josephson junctions, proposing a theoretical extension that aligns with numerical results and enhances understanding of switching current behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a simple theoretical extension to account for non-equilibrium processes in low damping Josephson junctions, improving the explanation of thermal escape phenomena.

Findings

Non-equilibrium corrections are crucial for low barrier regimes.

The proposed theory matches numerical simulations.

Application to Josephson junctions explains switching current curves.

Abstract

We study the thermal escape problem in the low damping limit. We find that finiteness of the barrier is crucial for explaining the thermal activation results. In this regime low barrier non-equilibrium corrections to the usual theories become necessary. We propose a simple theoretical extension accounting for these non-equilibrium processes which agrees numerical results. We apply our theory to the understanding of switching current curves in underdamped Josephson junctions.