Observability of surface Andreev bound states in a topological insulator in proximity to an s-wave superconductor

Abstract

To guide experimental work on the search for Majorana zero-energy modes, we calculate the superconducting pairing symmetry of a three-dimensional topological insulator in combination with an s-wave superconductor. In analogy to the case of nanowires with strong spin-orbit coupling we show how the pairing symmetry changes across different topological regimes. We demonstrate that a dominant p-wave pairing relation is not sufficient to realize a Majorana zero-energy mode useful for quantum computation. Our main result of this paper is the relation between odd-frequency pairing and Majorana zero energy modes by using Green functions techniques in three-dimensional topological insulators in the so-called Majorana regime. We discuss thereafter how the pairing relations in the different regimes can be observed in the shape of the tunneling conductance of an s-wave proximized three-dimensional topological insulator. We will discuss the necessity to incorporate a ferromagnetic insulator to localize the zero-energy bound state to the interface as a Majorana mode.

Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

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• Proximity-Induced Odd-Frequency Superconductivity in a Topological Insulator
• Transport spectroscopy of induced superconductivity in the three-dimensional topological insulator HgTe
• Topological superconductivity and Majorana states in low-dimensional systems
• Magnetoelectric Andreev effect due to proximity-induced non-unitary triplet superconductivity in helical metals
• Proximity-Induced Mixed Odd and Even Frequency Pairings in Monolayer NbSe${}_2$
• Planar Josephson Hall effect in topological Josephson junctions
• Odd-frequency superconductivity induced in topological insulators with and without hexagonal warping
• Conduction spectroscopy of a proximity induced superconducting topological insulator
• Signature of Anomalous Andreev bound states in magnetic Josephson junction of noncentrosymmetric superconductor on a topological insulator
• Proximity-Induced Superconductivity at Non-Helical Topological Insulator Interfaces
• Unusual Superconducting Proximity Effect in Magnetically Doped Topological Josephson Junctions
• Probing the magnetoelectric effect in noncentrosymmetric superconductors by equal-spin Andreev tunneling
• Andreev spectroscopy of nonhelical spin textures in topological insulators
• A Green's function approach to Topological Insulator junctions with magnetic and superconducting regions
• Anomalous superconducting proximity effect and coherent charge transport in semiconducting thin film with spin-orbit interaction