4$\pi$ and 8$\pi$ dual Josephson effects induced by symmetry defects
Abstract
In topological insulator edges, the duality between the Zeeman field orientation and the proximitized superconducting phase has been recently exploited to predict a magneto-Josephson effect with a 4 periodicity. We revisit this latter Josephson effect in the light of this duality and show that the same 4 quantum anomaly occurs when bridging two spinless Thouless pumps to a p-wave superconducting region that could be as small as a single and experimentally-relevant superconducting quantum dot - a point-like defect. This interpretation as a dual Josephson effect never requires the presence of Majorana modes but rather builds on the topological properties of adiabatic quantum pumps with Z topological invariants. It allows for the systematic construction of dual Josephson effects of arbitrary periodicity, such as 4 and 8, by using point-like defects whose symmetry differs from that of the pump, dubbed symmetry defects. Although adiabatic quantum pumps are typically discussed via mappings to two-dimensional geometries, we show that this phenomenology does not have any counterpart in conventional two-dimensional systems.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1901.03342,
title = {4$\pi$ and 8$\pi$ dual Josephson effects induced by symmetry defects},
author = {Corneliu Malciu and Leonardo Mazza and Christophe Mora},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1901.03342},
year = {2019}
}