Quantized charge transport in chiral Majorana edge modes

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Stephan, Rachel, Mascot, Eric, Cocklin, Sagen, Vojta, Matthias, Morr, Dirk K
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 15.05.2017
• Subjects: Adatoms; Charge transport; Chirality; Fermions; Islands; Lattices; Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics; Physics - Superconductivity; Quantum computing; Qubits (quantum computing); Resistance; Superconductivity; Topological superconductors; Topology; Transport properties
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1705.05378

Majorana fermions can be realized as quasiparticles in topological superconductors, with potential applications in topological quantum computing. Recently, lattices of magnetic adatoms deposited on the surface of s-wave superconductors - Shiba lattices - have been proposed as a new platform for topological superconductivity. These systems possess the great advantage that they are accessible via scanning-probe techniques, and thus enable the local manipulation and detection of Majorana modes. Realizing quantum bits on this basis will rely on the creation of nanoscopic Shiba lattices, so-called Shiba islands. Here, we demonstrate that the topological Majorana edge modes of such islands display universal electronic and transport properties. Most remarkably, these Majorana modes possess a quantized charge conductance that is proportional to the topological Chern number, C, and carry a supercurrent whose chirality reflects the sign of C. These results establish nanoscopic Shiba islands as promising components in future topology-based devices.