Diffusion current in a system of coupled Josephson junctions

The role of a diffusion current in the phase dynamics of a system of coupled Josephson junctions (JJs) has been analyzed. It is shown that, by studying the temporal dependences of the superconducting, quasi-particle, diffusion, and displacement currents and the dependences of average values of these currents on the total current, it is possible to explain the main features of the current-voltage characteristic (CVC) of the system. The effect of a diffusion current on the character of CVC branching in the vicinity of a critical current and in the region of hysteresis, as well as on the part of CVC branch corresponding to a parametric resonance in the system is demonstrated. A clear interpretation of the differences in the character of CVC branching in a model of capacitively coupled JJs (CCJJ model) and a model of capacitive coupling with diffusion current (CCJJ+DC model) is proposed. It is shown that a decrease in the diffusion current in a JJ leads to the switching of this junction to an oscillating state. The results of model calculations are qualitatively consistent with the experimental data.