Microwave-induced conductance replicas in hybrid Josephson junctions without Floquet-Andreev states

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that microwave-induced conductance replicas in hybrid Josephson junctions are due to photon-assisted tunnelling of electrons into Andreev states, not Floquet-Andreev states, clarifying light-matter interactions in such systems.

Contribution

It provides a method to distinguish photon-assisted tunnelling from Floquet-Andreev states in hybrid nanostructures, advancing understanding of light-matter coupling.

Findings

Spectral replicas caused by photon-assisted tunnelling.

Current-phase relation explained without Floquet states.

Establishes a baseline to differentiate tunnelling phenomena.

Abstract

Light-matter interaction enables engineering of non-equilibrium quantum systems. In condensed matter, spatially and temporally cyclic Hamiltonians are expected to generate energy-periodic Floquet states, with properties inaccessible at thermal equilibrium. A recent work explored the tunnelling conductance of a planar Josephson junction under microwave irradiation, and interpreted replicas of conductance features as evidence of steady Floquet-Andreev states. Here we realise a similar device in a hybrid superconducting-semiconducting heterostructure, which utilises a tunnelling probe with gate-tunable transparency and allows simultaneous measurements of Andreev spectrum and current-phase relation of the planar Josephson junction. We show that, in our devices, spectral replicas in sub-gap conductance emerging under microwave irradiation are caused by photon assisted tunnelling of electrons into Andreev states. The current-phase relation under microwave irradiation is also explained by the interaction of Andreev states with microwave photons, without the need to invoke Floquet states. The techniques outlined in this study establish a baseline to distinguish photon assisted tunnelling from Floquet-Andreev states in mesoscopic devices, a crucial development towards understanding light-matter coupling in hybrid nanostructures.