Multiple Andreev reflection and critical current in topological superconducting nanowire junctions

2013/01/31 by Pablo San-Jose, Pablo San-José, Jorge Cayao +2 · 107 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Andreev reflection #Bound state #Condensed matter physics #Gapless playback #Josephson effect #MAJORANA #Magnetic field #Nanowire #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Superconductivity #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topology (electrical circuits) #Zeeman effect #cond-mat.mes-hall

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/15/7/075019

published in New Journal of Physics 15(7), 075019 (IOP Publishing) · Published version, 21 pages, 7 figures, 3 appendices

openalex publication_date 2013/07/23 · arxiv created 2013/08/01 · arxiv updated 2013/08/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We study transport in a voltage-biased superconductor–normal–superconductor (SNS) junction made of semiconducting nanowires with strong spin–orbit coupling, as it transitions into a topological superconducting phase for increasing Zeeman field. Despite the absence of a fractional steady-state ac Josephson current in the topological phase, the dissipative multiple Andreev reflection current I dc at different junction transparencies is particularly revealing. It exhibits unique features related to topology, such as gap inversion, the formation of Majorana bound states and fermion-parity conservation. Moreover, the critical current I c , which remarkably does not vanish at the critical point where the system becomes gapless, provides direct evidence of the topological transition.

Citations

• Signatures of Majorana fermions in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowire devices
• Hamiltonian approach to the ac Josephson effect in superconducting-normal hybrid systems
• Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Andreev States in the Kondo Regime
• Helical Liquids and Majorana Bound States in Quantum Wires
• Midgap edge states and pairing symmetry of quasi-one-dimensional organic superconductors
• Superconductor-nanowire devices from tunneling to the multichannel regime: Zero-bias oscillations and magnetoconductance crossover
• Anomalous Zero-Bias Conductance Peak in a Nb–InSb Nanowire–Nb Hybrid Device
• Tunable Supercurrent Through Semiconductor Nanowires
• Observing Majorana bound States inp-Wave Superconductors Using Noise Measurements in Tunneling Experiments
• Non-Abelian anyons and topological quantum computation
• Unpaired Majorana fermions in quantum wires

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