Distinguishing Majorana bound states from localized Andreev bound states by interferometry
(2018) In Physical Review B 97(16).- Abstract
Experimental evidence for Majorana bound states (MBSs) is so far mainly based on the robustness of a zero-bias conductance peak. However, similar features can also arise due to Andreev bound states (ABSs) localized at the end of an island. We show that these two scenarios can be distinguished by an interferometry experiment based on embedding a Coulomb-blockaded island into an Aharonov-Bohm ring. For two ABSs, when the ground state is nearly degenerate, cotunneling can change the state of the island, and interference is suppressed. By contrast, for two MBSs the ground state is nondegenerate, and cotunneling has to preserve the island state, which leads to h/e-periodic conductance oscillations with magnetic flux. Such interference setups... (More)
Experimental evidence for Majorana bound states (MBSs) is so far mainly based on the robustness of a zero-bias conductance peak. However, similar features can also arise due to Andreev bound states (ABSs) localized at the end of an island. We show that these two scenarios can be distinguished by an interferometry experiment based on embedding a Coulomb-blockaded island into an Aharonov-Bohm ring. For two ABSs, when the ground state is nearly degenerate, cotunneling can change the state of the island, and interference is suppressed. By contrast, for two MBSs the ground state is nondegenerate, and cotunneling has to preserve the island state, which leads to h/e-periodic conductance oscillations with magnetic flux. Such interference setups can be realized with semiconducting nanowires or two-dimensional electron gases with proximity-induced superconductivity and may also be a useful spectroscopic tool for parity-flip mechanisms.
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- author
- Hell, Michael LU ; Flensberg, Karsten and Leijnse, Martin LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018-04-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Physical Review B
- volume
- 97
- issue
- 16
- article number
- 161401
- publisher
- American Physical Society
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85045131834
- ISSN
- 2469-9950
- DOI
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.97.161401
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 360daa7f-4329-4a3f-b50b-8ca08209351e
- date added to LUP
- 2018-04-17 14:13:15
- date last changed
- 2023-11-17 17:43:16
@article{360daa7f-4329-4a3f-b50b-8ca08209351e, abstract = {{<p>Experimental evidence for Majorana bound states (MBSs) is so far mainly based on the robustness of a zero-bias conductance peak. However, similar features can also arise due to Andreev bound states (ABSs) localized at the end of an island. We show that these two scenarios can be distinguished by an interferometry experiment based on embedding a Coulomb-blockaded island into an Aharonov-Bohm ring. For two ABSs, when the ground state is nearly degenerate, cotunneling can change the state of the island, and interference is suppressed. By contrast, for two MBSs the ground state is nondegenerate, and cotunneling has to preserve the island state, which leads to h/e-periodic conductance oscillations with magnetic flux. Such interference setups can be realized with semiconducting nanowires or two-dimensional electron gases with proximity-induced superconductivity and may also be a useful spectroscopic tool for parity-flip mechanisms.</p>}}, author = {{Hell, Michael and Flensberg, Karsten and Leijnse, Martin}}, issn = {{2469-9950}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{04}}, number = {{16}}, publisher = {{American Physical Society}}, series = {{Physical Review B}}, title = {{Distinguishing Majorana bound states from localized Andreev bound states by interferometry}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.161401}}, doi = {{10.1103/PhysRevB.97.161401}}, volume = {{97}}, year = {{2018}}, }