The exotic edge states in topological materials have an even broader appeal in the superconducting case owing to their Majorana fermion character. Zero-energy Majorana bound states (MBS) are particularly interesting due to their non-Abelian braiding properties, which are potentially relevant for topological quantum computation. It has been known for years that MBS excitations may appear in many condensed matter systems (such as e. g. exotic quantum Hall states and superconductors), but the real breakthrough came with proposals to engineer topological superconductors based on conventional s-wave superconductors coupled to a topological insulator, or a semiconductor with strong spin-orbit coupling. The possibility of obtaining topological superconductivity using these realistic materials spurred a race towards detecting Majorana fermions in solid state devices.<\/p>\n
In fact, recent experiments have reported measurements in InSb nanowires coupled to superconductors that show signatures, an emergent zero bias anomaly (ZBA) in the electrical conductance as a magnetic field is increased, consistent with MBS. Similar ZBA features have been also reported in subsequent experiments. However, alternative physical explanations, ranging from Kondo physics to non-trivial magnetic dependence of Andreev levels, cannot be ruled out in most of these experiments. Thus the field is in need of \u201dsmoking gun” experiments beyond this first ZBA generation.<\/p>\n
Selected publications<\/strong><\/p>\n Mapping the topological phase diagram of multiband semiconductors with supercurrents<\/a> Magnetic-field instability of Majorana modes in multiband semiconductor wires<\/a> ac Josephson Effect in Finite-Length Nanowire Junctions with Majorana Modes<\/a> The exotic edge states in topological materials have an even broader appeal in the superconducting case owing to their Majorana fermion character. Zero-energy Majorana bound states (MBS) are particularly interesting due to their non-Abelian braiding properties, which are potentially relevant for topological quantum computation. It has been known for years that MBS excitations may appear … Continue reading Topological materials and Majorana Fermions<\/span>
\nPablo San-Jose, Elsa Prada, Ram\u00f3n Aguado (PRL, in press)
\nPhysical Review Letters 112, 137001 (2014),\u00a0arXiv:1309.2239<\/a><\/p>\nTransport spectroscopy of\u00a0NS\u00a0nanowire junctions with Majorana fermions<\/a>
\nElsa Prada, Pablo San-Jose, and Ram\u00f3n Aguado
\nPhys. Rev. B 86, 180503(R)<\/address>\nZero-Bias Anomaly in a Nanowire Quantum Dot Coupled to Superconductors<\/a>
\nEduardo J. H. Lee, Xiaocheng Jiang, Ram\u00f3n Aguado, Georgios Katsaros, Charles M. Lieber, and Silvano De Franceschi
\nPhys. Rev. Lett. 109, 186802<\/address>\n
\nJong Soo Lim, Lloren\u00e7 Serra, Rosa L\u00f3pez, and Ram\u00f3n Aguado
\nPhys. Rev. B 86, 121103(R)<\/p>\n
\nPablo San-Jose, Elsa Prada, and Ram\u00f3n Aguado
\nPhys. Rev. Lett. 108, 257001<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"