Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 017002 (2002) [4 pages]Spontaneous Formation of a π Soliton in a Superconducting Wire with an Odd Number of ElectronsReceived 1 April 2002; published 14 June 2002 We consider a one-dimensional superconducting wire where the total number of electrons can be controlled in the Coulomb blockade regime. We predict that a π soliton (kink) will spontaneously form in the system when the number of electrons is odd, because this configuration has a lower energy. If the wire with an odd number of electrons is closed in a ring, the phase difference on the two sides of the soliton will generate a supercurrent detectable by a SQUID. The two degenerate states with the current flowing clockwise or counterclockwise can be utilized as a qubit. © 2002 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.017002
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.017002
PACS:
74.50.+r, 03.67.-a, 05.45.Yv, 73.23.Ra
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