Laguerre-Gaussian light induction of orbital currents and Kapitza stabilization in superconducting circuits

  1. Hennadii Yerzhakov,
  2. Tien-Tien Yeh,
  3. and Alexander Balatsky
We investigate the effects of a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam on the superconducting state. We show that the vortex angular momentum of a LG beam affects the superconducting state and
induces currents. The induction of the current by light is illustrated on a Josephson loop and SQUID devices. In particular, we establish that coupling a dc SQUID to the AC magnetic flux of a LG beam can stabilize pi phase in the SQUID. This can happen via developing a global or local minimum in the effective potential at pi. In the latter case, this happens via the Kapitza mechanism.