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Signatures of topological Josephson junctions

Yang Peng, Falko Pientka, Erez Berg, Yuval Oreg, and Felix von Oppen
Phys. Rev. B 94, 085409 – Published 11 August 2016

Abstract

Quasiparticle poisoning and diabatic transitions may significantly narrow the window for the experimental observation of the 4π-periodic dc Josephson effect predicted for topological Josephson junctions. Here, we show that switching-current measurements provide accessible and robust signatures for topological superconductivity which persist in the presence of quasiparticle poisoning processes. Such measurements provide access to the phase-dependent subgap spectrum and Josephson currents of the topological junction when incorporating it into an asymmetric SQUID together with a conventional Josephson junction with large critical current. We also argue that pump-probe experiments with multiple current pulses can be used to measure the quasiparticle poisoning rates of the topological junction. The proposed signatures are particularly robust, even in the presence of Zeeman fields and spin-orbit coupling, when focusing on short Josephson junctions. Finally, we also consider microwave excitations of short topological Josephson junctions which may complement switching-current measurements.

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  • Received 3 May 2016
  • Revised 22 July 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.085409

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Yang Peng1, Falko Pientka1,2, Erez Berg3, Yuval Oreg3, and Felix von Oppen1

  • 1Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems and Fachbereich Physik, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
  • 2Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 3Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

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Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 8 — 15 August 2016

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