Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires
Condensed-matter physics: zero-energy pinning of Majoranas Majorana zero modes are quasiparticle excitations which are charge neutral at the boundaries of topological superconductors. Their practical generation in semiconducting nanowires of realistic length often faces Majorana overlaps leading to...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2017-03-01
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| Series: | npj Quantum Materials |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-017-0012-0 |
| _version_ | 1818432134589710336 |
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| author | Fernando Domínguez Jorge Cayao Pablo San-Jose Ramón Aguado Alfredo Levy Yeyati Elsa Prada |
| author_facet | Fernando Domínguez Jorge Cayao Pablo San-Jose Ramón Aguado Alfredo Levy Yeyati Elsa Prada |
| author_sort | Fernando Domínguez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Condensed-matter physics: zero-energy pinning of Majoranas Majorana zero modes are quasiparticle excitations which are charge neutral at the boundaries of topological superconductors. Their practical generation in semiconducting nanowires of realistic length often faces Majorana overlaps leading to charged states that are no longer topologically protected against electrostatic interactions with the environment. Now, a team of researchers in Spain from Autonomous University of Madrid and Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC, demonstrates that the electrostatic environment may be engineered so that interactions fully suppress Majorana hybridization around parity crossings. That is, zero-energy crossings are stabilized into regions in parameter space where Majoranas become pinned to zero energy. The zero splitting of non-overlapping Majoranas, commonly associated to topological protection and to applications in topological quantum computation, can occur in spite of the Majorana overlap in nanowires of finite length. The generic zero-energy pinning mechanism could be extended to other contexts such as parity crossings of Shiba states in non-topological superconductors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T16:00:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89adf7a657b44779aec0a67df6f3ea70 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2397-4648 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T16:00:22Z |
| publishDate | 2017-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Quantum Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-89adf7a657b44779aec0a67df6f3ea702022-12-21T22:55:12ZengNature Portfolionpj Quantum Materials2397-46482017-03-01211610.1038/s41535-017-0012-0Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowiresFernando Domínguez0Jorge Cayao1Pablo San-Jose2Ramón Aguado3Alfredo Levy Yeyati4Elsa Prada5Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de MadridInstituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICMM-CSIC)Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICMM-CSIC)Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICMM-CSIC)Departamento de Física Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de MadridDepartamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de MadridCondensed-matter physics: zero-energy pinning of Majoranas Majorana zero modes are quasiparticle excitations which are charge neutral at the boundaries of topological superconductors. Their practical generation in semiconducting nanowires of realistic length often faces Majorana overlaps leading to charged states that are no longer topologically protected against electrostatic interactions with the environment. Now, a team of researchers in Spain from Autonomous University of Madrid and Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC, demonstrates that the electrostatic environment may be engineered so that interactions fully suppress Majorana hybridization around parity crossings. That is, zero-energy crossings are stabilized into regions in parameter space where Majoranas become pinned to zero energy. The zero splitting of non-overlapping Majoranas, commonly associated to topological protection and to applications in topological quantum computation, can occur in spite of the Majorana overlap in nanowires of finite length. The generic zero-energy pinning mechanism could be extended to other contexts such as parity crossings of Shiba states in non-topological superconductors.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-017-0012-0 |
| spellingShingle | Fernando Domínguez Jorge Cayao Pablo San-Jose Ramón Aguado Alfredo Levy Yeyati Elsa Prada Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires npj Quantum Materials |
| title | Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires |
| title_full | Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires |
| title_fullStr | Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires |
| title_short | Zero-energy pinning from interactions in Majorana nanowires |
| title_sort | zero energy pinning from interactions in majorana nanowires |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41535-017-0012-0 |
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