Suppression of 2π phase slip due to hidden zero modes in one-dimensional topological superconductors

David Pekker, Chang-Yu Hou, Doron L. Bergman, Sam Goldberg, İnanç Adagideli, and Fabian Hassler
Phys. Rev. B 87, 064506 – Published 19 February 2013

Abstract

We study phase slips in one-dimensional topological superconducting wires. These wires have been proposed as building blocks for topologically protected qubits in which the quantum information is distributed over the length of the device and thus is immune to local sources of decoherence. However, phase slips are nonlocal events that can result in decoherence. Phase slips in topological superconductors are peculiar for the reason that they occur in multiples of 4π (instead of 2π in conventional superconductors). We reestablish this fact via a beautiful analogy to the particle physics concept of dynamic symmetry breaking by explicitly finding a “hidden” zero mode in the fermion spectrum computed in the background of a 2π phase slip. Armed with the understanding of phase slips in topological superconductors, we propose a simple experimental setup with which the predictions can be tested by monitoring the tunneling rate of a superconducting flux quantum through a topological superconducting wire.

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  • Received 17 September 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.064506

©2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

David Pekker1, Chang-Yu Hou1,2, Doron L. Bergman1, Sam Goldberg1, İnanç Adagideli3, and Fabian Hassler4

  • 1Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
  • 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA
  • 3Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Orhanli-Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey
  • 4Institute for Quantum Information, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 87, Iss. 6 — 1 February 2013

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