Synthesizing Majorana zero-energy modes in a periodically gated quantum wire

Abstract

We explore a scheme for engineering a one-dimensional spinless p-wave superconductor hosting unpaired Majorana zero-energy modes, using an all-electric setup with a spin-orbit coupled quantum wire in proximity to an s-wave superconductor. The required crossing of the Fermi level by a single spin-split energy band is ensured by employing a periodically modulated Rashba interaction, which, assisted by electron-electron interactions and a uniform Dresselhaus interaction, opens a gap at two of the spin-orbit shifted Fermi points. While an implementation in a hybrid superconductor-semiconductor device requires improvements upon present-day capabilities, a variant of our scheme where spin-orbit-coupled cold fermions are effectively proximity-coupled to a BEC reservoir of Feshbach molecules may provide a ready-to-use platform.

This is a revised and expanded version, with added figures and references; to appear soon in PRB. 16 pages, 7 figures

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Floquet topological phase transitions in a periodically quenched dimer
• From fractional solitons to Majorana fermions in a paradigmatic model of topological superconductivity
• Effects of the electrostatic environment on superlattice Majorana nanowires
• Realizing Topological Superconductivity with Superlattices
• Coexistence of Strong and Weak Majorana Zero Modes in Anisotropic XY Spin Chain with Second-Neighbor Interaction
• Majorana end states in an interacting quantum wire
• Movable but not removable band degeneracies in a symmorphic crystal
• Single and multi-frequency driving protocols in a Rashba nanowire proximitized to an s-wave superconductor
• Assessing bound states in a one-dimensional topological superconductor: Majorana versus Tamm
• Moiré-enabled topological superconductivity
• Long range alternating spin current order in a quantum wire with modulated spin-orbit interactions
• Exceptional Luttinger Liquids from sublattice dependent interaction