Topological aspects of $\pi$ phase winding junctions in superconducting wires - INSPIRE

DataBETA

Topological aspects of $\pi$ phase winding junctions in superconducting wires

Jan 14, 2015

16 pages

Published in:

J.Phys.Condens.Matter 27 (2015) 40, 405701

Published: Sep 24, 2015

e-Print:

1501.03413 [cond-mat.mes-hall]

DOI:

10.1088/0953-8984/27/40/405701

View in:

ADS Abstract Service

reference search7 citations

Citations per year

Abstract: (IOP)

We theoretically investigate Josephson junctions with a phase shift of π in various proximity induced one-dimensional superconductor models. One of the salient experimental signatures of topological superconductors, namely the fractionalized periodic Josephson effect, is closely related to the occurrence of a characteristic zero energy bound state in such junctions. We make a detailed analysis of a more general type of π-junctions coined 'phase winding junctions' where the phase of the order parameter rotates by an angle π while its absolute value is kept finite. Such junctions have different properties, also from a topological viewpoint, and there are no protected zero energy modes. We compare the phenomenology of such junctions in topological (p-wave) and trivial (s-wave) superconducting wires, and briefly discuss possible experimental probes. Furthermore, we propose a topological field theory that gives a minimal description of a wire with defects corresponding to π-junctions. This effective theory is a one-dimensional version of similar theories describing Majorana bound states in half-vortices of two-dimensional topological superconductors.

Note:

16 pages, 10 figures

03.65.Vf
72.15.Nj
topological superconductivity
Kitaev wire model
Josephson junction

References(37)

Figures(10)

[1]

Unpaired Majorana fermions in quantum wires

Alexei Kitaev
(
- Microsoft, Redmond and
- Landau Inst.
)

- Phys.Usp. 44 (2001) 10S, 131-136
•
e-Print:
- cond-mat/0010440
•
DOI:
- 10.1070/1063-7869/44/10S/S29

[2]

Classification of topological insulators and superconductors in three spatial dimensions

Andreas Schnyder
(
- Santa Barbara, KITP
)
,
Shinsei Ryu
(
- Santa Barbara, KITP
)
,
Akira Furusaki
(
- Wako, RIKEN
)
,
Andreas Ludwig
(
- UC, Santa Barbara
)

- Phys.Rev.B 78 (2008) 19, 195125
•
e-Print:
- 0803.2786
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.78.195125

[3]

Periodic table for topological insulators and superconductors

Alexei Kitaev
(
- Caltech
)

- AIP Conf.Proc. 1134 (2009) 1, 22-30
•
e-Print:
- 0901.2686
•
DOI:
- 10.1063/1.3149495

[4]

Topological insulators and superconductors: Tenfold way and dimensional hierarchy

Shinsei Ryu
(
- UC, Berkeley
)
,
Andreas P. Schnyder
(
- Santa Barbara, KITP and
- Stuttgart, MPI Solid State Res.
)
,
Akira Furusaki
(
- Nishina Ctr., RIKEN
)
,
Andreas W.W. Ludwig
(
- UC, Santa Barbara
)

- New J.Phys. 12 (2010) 065010
•
e-Print:
- 0912.2157
•
DOI:
- 10.1088/1367-2630/12/6/065010

[5]

Nonstandard symmetry classes in mesoscopic normal-superconducting hybrid structures

Alexander Altland
(
- Cologne U.
)
,
Martin R. Zirnbauer
(
- Cologne U.
)

- Phys.Rev.B 55 (1997) 1142-1161
•
e-Print:
- cond-mat/9602137
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.55.1142

[6]

Majorana Fermions and a Topological Phase Transition in Semiconductor-Superconductor Heterostructures

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 105 (2010) 7, 077001
•
e-Print:
- 1002.4033
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.077001

[7]

Helical liquids and Majorana bound states in quantum wires

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 105 (2010) 17, 177002
•
e-Print:
- 1003.1145
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.177002

[8]

Choy T-P
,
Edge J. M
,
Akhmerov A. R
,
Beenakker C.W. J

- Phys.Rev.B 84 (2011) 195442
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevb.84.195442

[9]

Nadj-Perge S
,
Drozdov I. K
,
Bernevig B. A
,
Yazdani A

- Phys.Rev.B 88 (2013) 020407
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevb.88.020407

[10]

Pientka F
,
Glazman L. I
,
von Oppen F

- Phys.Rev.B 89 (2014) 180505
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevb.89.180505

[11]

Observation of Majorana Fermions in Ferromagnetic Atomic Chains on a Superconductor

et al.

- Science 346 (2014) 602-607
•
e-Print:
- 1410.0682
•
DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1259327

[12]

Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices

V. Mourik
(
- Delft Tech. U.
)
,
K. Zuo
(
- Delft Tech. U.
)
,
S.M. Frolov
(
- Delft Tech. U.
)
,
S.R. Plissard
(
- Eindhoven, Tech. U.
)
,
E.P.A.M. Bakkers
(
- Delft Tech. U. and
- Eindhoven, Tech. U.
)

et al.

- Science 336 (2012) 1003
•
e-Print:
- 1204.2792
•
DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1222360

[13]

Anomalous Zero-Bias Conductance Peak in a Nb–InSb Nanowire–Nb Hybrid Device

et al.

- Nano Lett. 12 (2012) 12, 6414-6419
•
DOI:
- 10.1021/nl303758w

[14]

Zero-bias peaks and splitting in an Al–InAs nanowire topological superconductor as a signature of Majorana fermions

et al.

- Nature Phys. 8 (2012) 12, 887-895
•
DOI:
- 10.1038/nphys2479

[15]

Bagrets D
,
Altland A

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 109 (2012) 227005
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevlett.109.227005

[16]

Liu J
,
Potter A. C
,
Law K. T
,
Lee P. A

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 109 (2012) 267002
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevlett.109.089902

[17]

Ojanen T

- Phys.Rev.B 87 (2013) 100506
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevb.87.100506

[18]

Topological rf SQUID with a frustrating π junction for probing the Majorana bound state

- Phys.Rev.B 88 (2013) 18, 184512
•
e-Print:
- 1302.5242
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.88.184512

[19]

Fermion fractionalization to Majorana fermions in a dimerized Kitaev superconductor

- Phys.Rev.B 90 (2014) 1, 014505
•
e-Print:
- 1405.1166
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.90.014505

[20]

Fu L and Kane C L

- Phys.Rev.B 79 (2009) 161408
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevb.79.161408

[21]

Ryu S
,
Hatsugai Y

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 89 (2002) 077002
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevlett.89.077002

[22]

Tewari S
,
Sau J. D

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 109 (2012) 150408
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/physrevlett.109.150408

[23]

Solitons in polyacetylene

- Phys.Rev.Lett. 42 (1979) 1698-1701
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.42.1698

[24]

Continuum model for solitons in polyacetylene

- Phys.Rev.B 21 (1980) 2388-2393
•
DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.21.2388

[25]

Topological orders and edge excitations in FQH states

Xiao-Gang Wen
(
- MIT, LNS
)

- Adv.Phys. 44 (1995) 5, 405-473
•
e-Print:
- cond-mat/9506066
•
DOI:
- 10.1080/00018739500101566

1-25 of 37
1
2
25 / page