Collapse of thermal activation in moderately damped Josephson junctions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the counterintuitive phenomenon where thermal activation in moderately damped Josephson junctions diminishes with rising temperature, revealing complex interplay between thermal fluctuations, escape, and retrapping.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how dissipation influences thermal escape in Josephson junctions, highlighting the role of damping and external tuning parameters.

Findings

Thermal activation collapses with increasing temperature in certain regimes.

Dissipation and damping significantly affect escape and retrapping dynamics.

External tuning parameters can control the thermal escape behavior.

Abstract

We study switching current statistics in different moderately damped Josephson junctions: a paradoxical collapse of the thermal activation with increasing temperature is reported and explained by interplay of two conflicting consequences of thermal fluctuations, which can both assist in premature escape and help in retrapping back into the stationary state. We analyze the influence of dissipation on the thermal escape by tuning the damping parameter with a gate voltage, magnetic field, temperature and an in-situ capacitor.