Nonlocal spin correlations mediated by a superconductor

Nonlocal charge correlations induced in two normal metals contacted separately to a superconductor have been studied intensively in the past few years. Here we investigate nonlocal correlations induced by the transfer of pure spin currents through a superconductor on a scale comparable to the superconducting coherence length. As with charge currents, two processes contribute to the nonlocal spin signal: crossed Andreev reflection (CAR), where an electron with spin-up injected from one normal metal into the superconductor results in a hole with spin-down being injected into the second normal metal, and elastic cotunneling (EC), where the electron with spin-up injected from the first normal metal results in an electron with spin-up being injected into the second normal metal. Unlike charge currents, however, the spin currents associated with CAR and EC add due to the fact that the bulk superconductor cannot sustain a net spin current.