2024/10/18 by Javier Feijóo, Feijóo, Javier, Anı́bal Iucci +3
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Spectral Theory in Mathematical Physics #Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con) #Theoretical and Computational Physics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2410.14887
openalex publication_date 2024/10/18 · openalex created_date 2024/11/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We theoretically propose a one-dimensional electronic nanodevice inspired in recently fabricated semiconductor-superconductor-ferromagnetic insulator (SE-SC-FMI) hybrid heterostructures, and investigate its zero-temperature transport properties. While previous related studies have primarily focused on the potential for generating topological superconductors hosting Majorana fermions, we propose an alternative application: using these hybrids to explore controllable quantum phase transitions (QPTs) detectable through transport measurements. Our study highlights two key differences from existing devices: first, the length of the FMI layer is shorter than that of the SE-SC heterostructure, introducing an inhomogeneous Zeeman interaction with significant effects on the induced Andreev bound states (ABS). Second, we focus on semiconductor nanowires with minimal or no Rashba spin-orbit interaction, allowing for the induction of spin-polarized ABS and high-spin quantum ground states. We show that the device can be tuned across spin- and fermion parity-changing QPTs by adjusting the FMI layer length orange and/or by applying a global backgate voltage, with zero-energy crossings of subgap ABS as signatures of these transitions. Our findings suggest that these effects are experimentally accessible and offer a robust platform for studying quantum phase transitions in hybrid nanowires.