Floquet Majorana zero and π modes in planar Josephson junctions

Abstract

We show how Floquet Majorana fermions may be experimentally realized by periodic driving of a solid-state platform. The system comprises a planar Josephson junction made of a proximitized heterostructure containing a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and Zeeman field. We map the subgap Andreev bound states of the junction to an effective one-dimensional Kitaev model with long-range hopping and pairing terms. Using this effective model, we study the response of the system to periodic driving of the chemical potential, as applied via microwaves through a top gate. We use the bulk Floquet topological invariants to characterize the system in terms of the number of zero and π Majorana modes for experimentally realistic parameters. We present signatures of these modes on differential conductance and local density of states. A notable feature is subharmonic response to the drive when both Majorana zero and π modes are present, thus opening up the possibility of using this feature to clearly identify Majorana modes. We highlight the robustness of these features to disorder, and show that despite hybridization due to long localization lengths, the main features of the subharmonic response are still identifiable in an experimental system that is readily accessible.

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