Stabilizing topological superconductivity in disordered spin-orbit coupled semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Roy, Binayyak B., Jaiswal, Rimika, Stanescu, Tudor D., Tewari, Sumanta
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Roy, Binayyak B.
Jaiswal, Rimika
Stanescu, Tudor D.
Tewari, Sumanta
author_facet Roy, Binayyak B.
Jaiswal, Rimika
Stanescu, Tudor D.
Tewari, Sumanta
contents We investigate theoretically a one-dimensional semiconductor-superconductor (SM-SC) heterostructure with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and parallel Zeeman field in the presence of disorder generated by random charged impurities and identify the optimal regimes for realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes. Using a Green's function approach, we show that upon increasing the disorder strength the stable topological superconducting phase characterized by robust end-to-end Majorana correlations "migrates" toward larger values of the Zeeman field and can be stabilized by increasing the effective SM-SC coupling. Based on these findings, we propose a strategy for accessing a regime characterized by well-separated Majorana zero modes that is based on (a) enhancing the strength of the effective SM-SC coupling (e.g., through interface engineering) and (b) expanding the range of accessible Zeeman fields (e.g., by enhancing the gyromagnetic ratio or optimizing the parent superconductor, to enable the application of larger magnetic fields). While this strategy may still require some reduction of the disorder strength, this requirement is significantly less strict than the corresponding requirement in a strategy that focuses exclusively on disorder reduction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_18549
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stabilizing topological superconductivity in disordered spin-orbit coupled semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures
Roy, Binayyak B.
Jaiswal, Rimika
Stanescu, Tudor D.
Tewari, Sumanta
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
We investigate theoretically a one-dimensional semiconductor-superconductor (SM-SC) heterostructure with Rashba spin-orbit coupling and parallel Zeeman field in the presence of disorder generated by random charged impurities and identify the optimal regimes for realizing topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes. Using a Green's function approach, we show that upon increasing the disorder strength the stable topological superconducting phase characterized by robust end-to-end Majorana correlations "migrates" toward larger values of the Zeeman field and can be stabilized by increasing the effective SM-SC coupling. Based on these findings, we propose a strategy for accessing a regime characterized by well-separated Majorana zero modes that is based on (a) enhancing the strength of the effective SM-SC coupling (e.g., through interface engineering) and (b) expanding the range of accessible Zeeman fields (e.g., by enhancing the gyromagnetic ratio or optimizing the parent superconductor, to enable the application of larger magnetic fields). While this strategy may still require some reduction of the disorder strength, this requirement is significantly less strict than the corresponding requirement in a strategy that focuses exclusively on disorder reduction.
title Stabilizing topological superconductivity in disordered spin-orbit coupled semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.18549