English

Josephson current via an isolated Majorana zero mode

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2021-02-09 v2

Abstract

We study the equilibrium dc Josephson current in a junction between an ss-wave and a topological superconductor. Cooper pairs from the ss-wave superconducting lead can transfer to the topological side either via an unpaired Majorana zero mode localized near the junction, or via the above-gap continuum states. We find that the Majorana contribution to the supercurrent can be switched on when time-reversal symmetry in the conventional lead is broken, e.g., by an externally applied magnetic field inducing a Zeeman splitting. Moreover, if the magnetic field has a component in the direction of the effective spin-orbit field, there will be a Majorana-induced anomalous supercurrent at zero phase difference. This behavior may serve as a signature characteristic of Majorana zero modes, and is accessible to devices with only superconducting contacts.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2005.10657,
  title  = {Josephson current via an isolated Majorana zero mode},
  author = {Chun-Xiao Liu and Bernard van Heck and Michael Wimmer},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.10657},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

10 pages, 4 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-23T15:43:00.949Z