Interferometric Signatures of Zero Modes in Fractional Quantum Hall-Superconductor Heterostructures

Abstract

Fractional quantum Hall-superconductor (FQH-SC) heterostructures are predicted to host defect-bound parafermion zero modes (PZMs). We propose two related configurations to probe their fusion structure. In a Josephson junction coupled to a single quantum point contact (QPC), quasiparticle tunneling switches the defect fusion channel, producing stochastic transitions between branches of the fractional Josephson spectrum. Embedding the junction in a two-QPC Fabry-Pérot interferometer provides a complementary probe. Weak zero mode tunneling produces fusion-channel-dependent interference while strong tunneling makes the interferometer probe a superposition of fusion channels and strongly suppresses the signal: in the topological limit it vanishes exactly, revealing the defects' non-Abelian nature even when the parent FQH state is Abelian.

v2: Added a discussion of Ref. [33]; v1: 14 pages, 3 figures