φ0-Josephson junction in twisted bilayer graphene induced by a valley-polarized state

Recently, gate-defined Josephson junctions in magic angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) were studied experimentally, and highly unconventional Fraunhofer patterns were observed. In this work, we show that an interaction-driven valley-polarized state connecting two superconducting regions of MATBG would give rise to a long-sought-after purely electric controlled φ0-junction in which the two superconductors acquire a finite phase difference φ0 in the ground state. We point out that the emergence of the φ0-junction stems from the valley-polarized state which breaks time-reversal symmetry, and trigonal warping effects which break intravalley inversion symmetry. Importantly, a spatially nonuniform valley-polarization order parameter at the junction can explain the key features of the observed unconventional Fraunhofer patterns. Our work explores the novel transport properties of the valley-polarized state, and we suggest that gate-defined MATBG Josephson junctions could realize the first purely electric controlled φ0-junctions.

Read the article in APS Journals.