Concomitant opening of a bulk-gap with an emerging possible Majorana zero mode
Authors:
Open Access
- 29 April 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications
- Vol. 10 (1) , 1-7
Abstract
Majorana quasiparticles are generally detected in a 1D topological superconductor by tunneling electrons into its edge, with an emergent zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP). However, such a ZBCP can also result from other mechanisms, hence, additional verifications are required. Since the emergence of a Majorana must be accompanied by an opening of a topological gap in the bulk, two simultaneous measurements are performed: one in the bulk and another at the edge of a 1D InAs nanowire coated with epitaxial aluminum. Only under certain experimental parameters, a closing of the superconducting bulk-gap that is followed by its reopening, appears simultaneously with a ZBCP at the edge. Such events suggest the occurrence of a topologically non-trivial phase. Yet, we also find that ZBCPs are observed under different tuning parameters without simultaneous reopening of a bulk-gap. This demonstrates the importance of simultaneous probing of bulk and edge in the identification of Majorana edge-states.Keywords
This publication has 47 references indexed in Scilit:
- A zero-voltage conductance peak from weak antilocalization in a Majorana nanowireNew Journal of Physics, 2012
- Anomalous Zero-Bias Conductance Peak in a Nb–InSb Nanowire–Nb Hybrid DeviceNano Letters, 2012
- Zero-bias peaks and splitting in an Al–InAs nanowire topological superconductor as a signature of Majorana fermionsNature Physics, 2012
- Zero-Bias Anomaly in a Nanowire Quantum Dot Coupled to SuperconductorsPhysical Review Letters, 2012
- Signatures of Majorana Fermions in Hybrid Superconductor-Semiconductor Nanowire DevicesScience, 2012
- Supercurrent and Multiple Andreev Reflections in an InSb Nanowire Josephson JunctionNano Letters, 2011
- Topological superconducting phases in disordered quantum wires with strong spin-orbit couplingPhysical Review B, 2011
- Majorana Fermion Induced Resonant Andreev ReflectionPhysical Review Letters, 2009
- Superconducting Proximity Effect and Majorana Fermions at the Surface of a Topological InsulatorPhysical Review Letters, 2008
- Unpaired Majorana fermions in quantum wiresPhysics-Uspekhi, 2001