SciPost Submission Page
Majorana zero-modes in a dissipative Rashba nanowire
by Arnob Kumar Ghosh, Annica M. Black-Schaffer
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Arnob Kumar Ghosh |
| Submission information | |
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| Preprint Link: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.00419v2 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | 2024-05-21 05:15 |
| Submitted by: | Ghosh, Arnob Kumar |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
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| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approach: | Theoretical |
Abstract
Condensed matter systems are continuously subjected to dissipation, which often has adverse effects on quantum phenomena. We focus on the impact of dissipation on a superconducting Rashba nanowire. We reveal that the system can still host Majorana zero-modes (MZMs) with a finite lifetime in the presence of dissipation. Most interestingly, dissipation can also generate two kinds of dissipative boundary states: four robust zero-modes (RZMs) and two MZMs, in the regime where the non-dissipative system is topologically trivial. The MZMs appear via bulk gap closing and are topologically characterized by a winding number. The RZMs are not associated with any bulk states and possess no winding number, but their emergence is instead tied to exceptional points. Further, we confirm the stability of the dissipation-induced RZMs and MZMs in the presence of random disorder. Our study paves the way for both realizing and stabilizing MZMs in an experimental setup, driven by dissipation.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block
Author comments upon resubmission
List of changes
- Corrected typo in Eq. (1).
- Added/modified the sentences in Section 2.2: "This adds substantial complexity... necessary for open systems."
- Changed $\gamma$ to $\gamma_i$ in Eq. (4).
- Added/modified the sentences at the end of Section 2.2.1: "... and approaches its steady state... 38-fold classification instead [66]."
- Added a sentence in Section 2.3: "For an NH system, this symmetry is also called chiral symmetry [66]."
- Added/modified the sentences in Section 3.1: "... and as such they would appear... with the maximum imaginary parts." and "However, the MZMs now also carry... ZMs we obtain in this work."
- Changed the colormap in Figs. 3(d,e).
- Increased the font size of the labels and the texts in the insets of all the figures.
- Added a few sentences in Section 3.2: "We finally note that, in Fig. 3(a,c)... disappears for longer NWs." and "Furthermore, we observe that... localized at two opposite ends." and "Furthermore, we also investigate... dissipation-induced MZMs and RZMs."
- Added a few sentences in Section 3.2.1: "We consider disorder averages over 50 and 500... corresponding imaginary parts in ascending order." and also "We also investigate the effect of non-uniform dissipation... robust against non-uniform loss across the NW."
- Added/modified the sentences in Section 4: "... and also connect the emergence of RZMs to EPs via some analytical expressions." and "The form of loss may also be... coupling with the environment." and also "In our study, we only ... topological properties of the steady state."
Current status:
Reports on this Submission
Report 1 by Tobias Meng on 2024-5-31 (Invited Report)
Strengths
1 - Detailed analysis of Majorana zero modes in quantum wires subject to dissipation
2 - Intriguing and highly relevant findings: dissipation-induced Majorana zero modes, additional robust zero modes
3 - Clear presentation of the results
Report
In their resubmission and the accompanying response letter, the authors have provided careful explanations of the questions I had, and made reasonable corresponding changes to the manuscript. The same applies, from my standpoint, to the questions raised by the second referee.
As mentioned in my first report, the results presented in this paper are timely, interesting to researchers analyzing non-Hermitian topology, open quantum systems, and ones trying to create topological qubits. I therefore beliebe that the manuscript meets the criteria for acceptance in SciPost Physics, and recommend its publication in the present form.
Recommendation
Publish (easily meets expectations and criteria for this Journal; among top 50%)