Zero-frequency supercurrent susceptibility signatures of trivial and topological zero-energy states in nanowire junctions

Abstract

We propose a method to distinguish between trivial and topological, Majorana, zero-energy states in both short and long superconductor-normal-superconductor junctions based on Rashba nanowires using phase-biased equilibrium transport measurements. In particular, we show how the sawtooth profile of the supercurrent, due to the Majorana oscillation suppression in the topological phase for sufficiently long superconductor regions, leads to a strong signal in its zero-frequency susceptibility for a phase difference of $\varphi =\pi$. This signal is notably insensitive to the chemical potential in the normal region, while trivial zero-energy states only causes signals in the susceptibility that is highly varying with the chemical potential, thus turning gating of the normal region into a simple experimental control knob. Furthermore, we obtain that, by tuning the junction transparency, critical currents in both short and long junctions undergo a reduction in the number of oscillations as a function of magnetic field only in the topological phase, an effect that find to be intimately linked to Majorana non-locality. Finally, we show that our results also hold at finite temperatures, thus highlighting their potential measurability under realistic experimental conditions.

12 pages, 7 figures. Published version

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Cited by in corpus (19)

• Theory of Majorana zero modes in unconventional superconductors
• Superconducting phenomena in systems with unconventional magnets
• Enhancing the Josephson diode effect with Majorana bound states
• Josephson effect and odd-frequency pairing in superconducting junctions with unconventional magnets
• Non-Hermitian phase-biased Josephson junctions
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• Josephson Diode Effect in Topological Superconductor
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• Entanglement measures of Majorana bound states
• Topological superconductivity in Fibonacci quasicrystals
• Josephson diode effect with Andreev and Majorana bound states
• Effect of topological length on Bound states signatures in a Topological nanowire
• Odd-frequency pairing due to Majorana and trivial Andreev bound states
• Transient effects in quantum dots contacted via topological superconductor
• Floquet-engineered diode performance in a Majorana-quantum dot Josephson junction
• Anomalous proximity effect under Andreev and Majorana bound states
• Mixed higher-order topology and nodal and nodeless flat band topological phases in a superconducting multiorbital model
• Non-Hermitian Josephson junctions with four Majorana zero modes
• Odd-frequency Pairing in Josephson Junctions Coupled by Magnetic Textures