Odd-frequency superconducting pairing and subgap density of states at the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator without magnetism

Abstract

We investigate the emergence and consequences of odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave pairing in superconducting hybrid junctions at the edge of a two-dimensional topological insulator without any magnetism. More specifically, we consider several different normal-superconductor hybrid systems at the topological insulator edge, where spin-singlet $s$-wave superconducting pairing is proximity induced from an external conventional superconductor. We perform fully analytical calculations and show that odd-frequency mixed spin-triplet $s$-wave pairing arises due to the unique spin-momentum locking in the topological insulator edge state and the naturally nonconstant pairing potential profile in hybrid systems. Importantly, we establish a one-to-one correspondence between the local density of states (LDOS) at low energies and the odd-frequency spin-triplet pairing in NS, NSN, and SNS junctions along the topological insulator edge; at interfaces the enhancement in the LDOS can directly be attributed to the contribution of odd-frequency pairing. Furthermore, in SNS junctions we show that the emergence of the zero-energy LDOS peak at the superconducting phase $\ensuremath{\phi}=\ensuremath{\pi}$ is associated purely with odd-frequency pairing in the middle of the junction.