Intrinsic emergence of Majorana modes in Luttinger j=3/2 systems

We analyze theoretically two different setups for s-wave superconductivity (SC) proximitized \(j=3/2\) particles in Luttinger materials that are able to host Majorana bound states (MBSs). First, we consider a one-dimensional SC wire with intrinsic bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA). In contrast to wires...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2022-03
Main Authors: Julian Benedikt Mayer, Sierra, Miguel A, Hankiewicz, Ewelina M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Couplings
Josephson junctions
Magnetic fields
Phase transitions
Spin-orbit interactions
Superconductivity
Topology
Two dimensional analysis
Two dimensional models
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We analyze theoretically two different setups for s-wave superconductivity (SC) proximitized \(j=3/2\) particles in Luttinger materials that are able to host Majorana bound states (MBSs). First, we consider a one-dimensional SC wire with intrinsic bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA). In contrast to wires, modeled by a quadratic dispersion with Rashba spin-orbit coupling, there are two topological phase transitions in our systems at finite magnetic fields. Second, we analyze a two-dimensional Josephson junction on the Luttinger model finding a topological region even in the absence of BIA and Rashba spin-orbit couplings. This originates from the hybridization of the light and heavy hole bands of the \(j=3/2\) states in combination with the SC pairing. As a consequence, both systems can be driven into a topological phase hosting MBSs. Hence, we predict that MBSs form in any SC proximitized Josephson junction on 2D Luttinger materials by the application of magnetic field alone. This opens a new avenue for the search of topological SC.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2203.13646