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Supercurrent-induced Majorana bound states in a planar geometry
by André Melo, Sebastian Rubbert, Anton R. Akhmerov
This Submission thread is now published as
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Anton Akhmerov · André Melo |
| Submission information | |
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| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.02725v3 (pdf) |
| Date accepted: | 2019-09-16 |
| Date submitted: | 2019-09-11 02:00 |
| Submitted by: | Melo, André |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
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| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
We propose a new setup for creating Majorana bound states in a two-dimensional electron gas Josephson junction. Our proposal relies exclusively on a supercurrent parallel to the junction as a mechanism of breaking time-reversal symmetry. We show that combined with spin-orbit coupling, supercurrents induce a Zeeman-like spin splitting. Further, we identify a new conserved quantity---charge-momentum parity---that prevents the opening of the topological gap by the supercurrent in a straight Josephson junction. We propose breaking this conservation law by adding a third superconductor, introducing a periodic potential, or making the junction zigzag-shaped. By comparing the topological phase diagrams and practical limitations of these systems we identify the zigzag-shaped junction as the most promising option.
Published as SciPost Phys. 7, 039 (2019)
Author comments upon resubmission
List of changes
- Added remark and reference to explain why we take spin-orbit coupling to be zero in the proximitized regions.
- Added explanation of why our qualitative results are unaffected by the details of the supercurrent distribution in the zigzag geometry.
- Changed penetration depth from Al to Nb in the magnetic field estimate.