Majorana fermions from Landau quantization in a superconductor--topological-insulator hybrid structure

Abstract

We show that the interplay of cyclotron motion and Andreev reflection experienced by massless-Dirac-like charge carriers in topological-insulator surface states generates a Majorana-particle excitation. Based on an envelope-function description of the Dirac-Andreev edge states, we discuss the kinematic properties of the Majorana mode and find them to be possible to be tuned by changing the superconductor's chemical potential and/or the magnitude of the perpendicular magnetic field. Our proposal opens up new possibilities for studying Majorana fermions in a controllable setup.

8 pages, 6 figures

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Superconducting proximity effect in three-dimensional topological insulators in the presence of a magnetic field
• Interference of chiral Andreev edge states
• Robust Transport Signatures of Topological Superconductivity in Topological Insulator Nanowires
• Snake states and their symmetries in graphene
• Majorana fermions at the edge of superconducting islands
• Majorana fermion from Landau quantization in 2D topological superconductors
• Adiabatic quantum pumping of chiral Majorana fermions
• Absence of Aharonov-Bohm effect of chiral Majorana fermion edge states
• Soliton defects and topological $4\pi$-periodic superconductivity from an orbital magnetic field effect in edge Josephson junctions
• Signatures of tunable Majorana-fermion edge states
• Neutral edge modes in a superconductor -- topological-insulator hybrid structure in a perpendicular magnetic field
• The d-p band-inversion topological insulator in bismuth-based skutterudites