Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures
Roman M. Lutchyn, Jay D. Sau, S. Das Sarma
DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.077001 · Physical Review Letters
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Abstract
We propose and analyze theoretically an experimental setup for detecting the elusive Majorana particle in semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures. The experimental system consists of one-dimensional semiconductor wire with strong spin-orbit Rashba interaction embedded into a superconducting quantum interference device. We show that the energy spectra of the Andreev bound states at the junction are qualitatively different in topologically trivial (i.e., not containing any Majorana) and nontrivial phases having an even and odd number of crossings at zero energy, respectively. The measurement of the supercurrent through the junction allows one to discern topologically distinct phases and observe a topological phase transition by simply changing the in-plane magnetic field or the gate voltage. The observation of this phase transition will be a direct demonstration of the existence of Majorana particles.
Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval
| Formula | Reported Tc (K) | Pressure (GPa) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| InAs Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
| Nb Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | 15 | Pressure not reported | unknown |
| Al Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | — | Pressure not reported | unknown |
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