The clock speed of topological quantum computers based on Majorana zero mode (MZM)-supporting nanoscale devices is limited by the time taken for electrons to traverse the device. We employ the time-dependent Landauer-B{ü}ttiker transport theory for current cross-lead correlations in a superconducting nanowire junction hosting MZMs. From the time-dependent quantum noise, we are able to extract traversal times for electrons crossing the system. After demonstrating a linear scaling of traversal times with nanowire length, we present a heuristic formula for the traversal times which accurately captures their behaviour. We then connect our framework to a proposed experimental verification of this discriminant between spurious and genuine MZMs utilizing time-resolved transport measurements.
The clock speed of topological quantum computers based on Majorana zero mode (MZM)-supporting nanoscale devices is limited by the time taken for electrons to traverse the device. We employ the time-dependent Landauer-B{ü}ttiker transport theory for current cross-lead correlations in a superconducting nanowire junction hosting MZMs. From the time-dependent quantum noise, we are able to extract traversal times for electrons crossing the system. After demonstrating a linear scaling of traversal times with nanowire length, we present a heuristic formula for the traversal times which accurately captures their behaviour. We then connect our framework to a proposed experimental verification of this discriminant between spurious and genuine MZMs utilizing time-resolved transport measurements.
In this work, we perform a systematic investigation of the correlated topological superconductors (TSCs), especially their non-trivial Majorana zero modes (MZMs). Compared to the non-interacting MZMs, the emerged correlated MZMs become projected MZMs. To prove this, we study the topological superconducting nanowire under the Hubbard and Hatsugai-Kohmoto interactions. Both of them become correlated TSCs under a magnetic field. Their topological properties are numerically computed by the Wilson loop and entanglement spectrum. We successfully extract the projected MZMs connecting the ground state and excited state through exact diagonalization. We also extend our results to the spinful Kitaev chain. Our results can provide a new perspective and understanding of the correlated MZMs.
Finite-length one-dimensional topological superconductor wires host localized Majorana zero modes at their ends. In realistic models, these appear only after a topological quantum critical point is crossed by external tuning of parameters. Thus, there is a universal finite-size scaling, governed by the critical point, that dictates the evolution of the energy of the Majorana modes near the transition. We first describe this scaling, then apply it in detail to an explicit synthetic topological superconductor model. Our work not only connects Ising quantum criticality with realistic nanowires in the presence of spin-orbit coupling, Zeeman splitting, and superconductivity, but also provides a viable experimental route for discerning the existence of the topological quantum critical point.
Motivated by recent experimental reports of Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in quantum-dot systems at the “sweet spot,” where the electronic hopping t h is equal to the superconducting coupling Δ , we study the time-dependent spectroscopy corresponding to the fusion of MZMs. The term “nontrivial” refers to the fusion of Majoranas from different original pairs of MZMs, each with well-defined parities. We employ an experimentally accessible time-dependent real-space local density-of-states (LDOS) method to investigate the nontrivial MZM fusion outcomes in canonical chains and in a Y-shaped array of interacting electrons. In the case of quantum-dot chains where two pairs of MZMs are initially disconnected, after fusion we find equal-height peaks in the electron and hole components of the LDOS, signaling nontrivial fusion into both the vacuum I and fermion Ψ channels with equal weight. For π -junction quantum-dot chains, where the superconducting phase has opposite signs on the left and right portions of the chain, after the nontrivial fusion we observed the formation of an exotic two-site MZM near the center of the chain, coexisting with another single-site MZM. Furthermore, we also studied the fusion of three MZMs in the Y-shaped geometry. In this case, after the fusion we observed the novel formation of another exotic multisite MZM, with properties depending on the connection and geometry of the central region of the Y-shaped quantum-dot array. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The minimal Kitaev chain that emulates a topological superconductor with three quantum dots offers a tunable platform for potentially hosting poor man's Majorana (PMM) modes. Asserting the need to go beyond differential conductance spectroscopy, we introduce current-current correlations as a viable framework for verifying their true non-locality. The robustness of the PMM modes, specifically with respect to delocalization as the system is tuned away from sweet spots, we show, is embedded in the relative magnitudes of the nonlocal transport processes. This aspect is adeptly captured by current cross-correlations, whose features show remarkable stability around the PMM sweet spot, specifically with respect to the detuning of an outer dot. We establish this as a prominent feature and a diagnostic for true PMMs even in the short chain limit. Our results accentuate the need for current cross-correlation measurements as a diagnostic framework for unambiguously verifying true non-locality of entangled states as well as topologically protected states.
Abstract Semiconducting nanowires with strong Rashba spin–orbit coupling in the proximity with a superconductor and under a strong Zeeman field can potentially manifest Majorana zero modes (MZMs) at their edges and are a topical candidate for topological superconductivity. However, protocols for their detection based on the local and the non-local conductance spectroscopy have been subject to intense scrutiny. In this work, by taking current experimental setups into account, we detail mathematical ideas related to the entanglement entropy and the fermion parity fluctuations to faithfully distinguish between true MZMs and trivial quasi-MZMs. We demonstrate that the disconnected entanglement entropy, derived from the von Neumann entanglement entropy, provides a distinct and robust signature of the topological phase transition which is immune to system parameters, size and disorders. In order to understand the entanglement entropy of the Rashba nanowire system, we establish its connection to a model of interacting spinfull Kitaev chains. Moreover, we relate the entanglement entropy to the fermionic parity fluctuation, and show that it behaves concordantly with entanglement entropy, hence making it a suitable metric for the detection of MZMs. In connection with the topological gap protocol that is based on the conductance spectra, the aforesaid metrics can reliably point toward the topological transitions even in realistic setups.
Determination of optimal control protocols for Majorana zero modes during their exchange is a crucial step towards the realisation of the topological quantum computer. In this paper, we study the finite-time exchange process of Majorana zero modes on a network formed by coupled p-wave superconducting one-dimensional nanowires. We provide scalable computational tools for optimising such an exchange process relying on deep learning techniques. To accomplish the scalability, we derive and implement an analytic formula for the gradient of the quantum infidelity which measures the error in the topological quantum gate generation in the Majorana zero modes exchange. Our optimisation strategy relies on learning the optimised transport protocol via a neural net which is followed by direct gradient descent fine tuning. The optimised exchange protocols in the super-adiabatic regime discover the fact that the Majorana zero modes must necessarily stop before crossing a junction point in the network. We explain that this is caused by fast changes in the energy gap of the system whenever one of the Majorana zero modes approaches a junction point. In particular, the energy gap exhibits oscillations followed by a sharp jump. We explain this phenomenon analytically in the regime where the Majorana zero modes are completely localised. Finally, we study how the disorder in the quantum nanowire affects the exchange protocols. This shows that understanding the disorder pattern would allow one to improve quantum gate fidelity by one to two orders of magnitude.