Topological superconductivity in lead nanowires

Abstract

Superconductors with an odd number of bands crossing the Fermi energy have topologically protected Andreev states at interfaces, including Majorana states in one dimensional geometries. Superconductivity, a low number of 1D channels, large spin orbit coupling, and a sizeable Zeeman energy, are present in lead nanowires produced by nanoindentation of a Pb tip on a Pb substrate, in magnetic fields higher than the Pb bulk critical field. A number of such devices have been analyzed. In some of them, the dependence of the critical current on magnetic field, and the Multiple Andreev Reflections observed at finite voltages, are compatible with the existence of topological superconductivity.

References in corpus (6)

• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
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• Multichannel Generalization of Kitaev's Majorana End States and a Practical Route to Realize Them in Thin Films
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Cited by in corpus (4)

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• Anisotropic superconductivity in ZrB${}_{12}$ near critical Bogomolnyi point
• Superconducting nanowire quantum interference device based on Nb ultrathin films deposited on self-assembled porous Si templates
• Majorana Fermions in Topological Superconducting Metallic Nanowires probed by a Superconducting Condensate