Ratchet potential for fluxons in Josephson-Junction arrays

TL;DR

This paper introduces a one-dimensional Josephson junction array with a ratchet potential for fluxons, demonstrating through simulations that fluxons behave as particles in an asymmetric potential, enabling control of their motion.

Contribution

It presents a novel configuration of Josephson junction arrays with a ratchet potential and verifies fluxon behavior via molecular dynamics simulations.

Findings

Fluxons behave as particles in a ratchet potential.

The system can be modeled by non-linear pendula with alternating parameters.

Simulations confirm predictions of overdamped thermal ratchet behavior.

Abstract

We propose a simple configuration of a one-dimensional parallel array of Josephson junctions in which the pinning potential for trapped fluxons lacks inversion symmetry (ratchet potential). This sytem can be modelised by a set of non-linear pendula with alternating lengths and harmonic couplings. We show, by molecular dynamics simulations, that fluxons behave as single particles in which the predictions for overdamped thermal ratchet can be easily verified.